


For Better... or Worse

by YumYumPM



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 08:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11917269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumYumPM/pseuds/YumYumPM
Summary: Yes, another what happened after Justin left for New York tale.   How does Brian deal with being alone again.  Our boys have gone their separate ways, do things continue for better...or worse.Things are not going good for Brian since Justin, and the girls left the Pitts.  The cancer is back, and his apartment burns down and that isn't even the worst!Big thanks to Starfire64 and loahisi for being wonderful betas





	For Better... or Worse

(Emmett catches us up on things in the Pitts.)

Hey, it's me...Emmett. Thought you might like to catch up on the last four years. If you remember, Justin left for New York City to further his art career. Of course, at the time, everyone thought it was for the best. I mean Lindsay and Mel said so and there was that article in the magazine - so it must have been true, right? Sigh. 

Naturally Brian didn't fight to keep our Sunshine here, and Brian being Brian didn't go out of his way to stay in touch with the boy and let's face it, Little Justin didn't chase after Brian the way he did in the early days. 

Mikey, didn't waste any time either and started hounding Brian to rebuild Babylon and at the time it seemed like a fabulous idea. Eventually, it did reopen to record crowds and certain people, you know which ones I mean, expected Brian Kinney to go back to his previous ways of drinking, drugging, and fucking. I admit Brian and I aren't the best of friends, not like he and Mikey, but even I noticed that he was too busy with Kinnetik to return to the way he used to be and continue to be the "Stud of Liberty Avenue". Why you ask? What happened next? Prepare to be surprised!

You see, four months after the grand reopening everything started to go downhill. Babylon was doing well, but there was licenses, taxes, payroll, health insurance, electric, water, gas, costumes, and hiring and firing. It wasn't as easy as opening the doors and raking in the money like a certain someone and his mother thought. You're probably wondering how I know all this. Well Teddy was pulled in to take care of the financial side of things and he needed someone to vent to. That was moi.

As far as Kinnetik went, from what I gathered, and this is just little things that I've heard, Brian's original clients loved Brian's campaigns, but the new ones - well let's say, they weren't quite as enamored. Oh, don't get me wrong, they loved his work but felt it should be toned down somewhat. That didn't go down too well with his highness. 

On top of that, what with Gus and the girls moving to Canada some of Kinnetik's cash flow got diverted that way and at that point the business needed every penny they could get their fingers on. Brian was forced to cut back on what he sent them and from what Ted told me it was a pretty penny. From the little tidbits that I heard here and there, to say the girls were not pleased would be the understatement of the century. They started hounding Brian, but I would bet you anything that they didn't expect Michael to contribute. Huff! Then the recession hit and business slowed down even more.

Now you might think that Brian Kinney led a charmed life and to an extent you might be right. So you can imagine my shock when Brian announced at the weekly meal Debbie held every Sunday night that the cancer was back. It wasn't until later that I learned that following informing Cynthia and Teddy, Brian had decided not to repeat his actions from his earlier bout. 

He'd wised up enough to know that he'd need some kind of support system. I was just trying to think of how I could offer assistance without pissing off his majesty - I'd heard that pity made his dick soft, when out of the blue, Michael suggested we all go to Babylon and make a night of it.

You could tell that Brian wasn't too enthused with the idea, but Michael was all excited and kept insisting. 

"Briiian, we haven't been out, all of us, in a long time."

Have you ever noticed how Michael's voice gets all whiney? Anyway it wasn't long before Brian gave in and we were all headed out for a night at Babylon. I couldn't help pulling Michael aside as we were leaving and asking him if he thought this was a good idea. I mean what with Brian just telling us his personal business it had to be difficult for him. I can't forget how blithely he replied. "Brian just needs to get out and have a little fun. Get his dick sucked. That'll make him feel better."

Frankly I had my doubts. I decided to keep my eyes on Brian just in case. Not a hardship at all, believe you me.

And that's where things started to go badly. You won't believe it. Even I have trouble believing it and I was there.

QAF  
( Change in POV. We learn who Brian's true friends are.)

Emmett leaned back on the bar sipping his cosmos and surreptitiously keeping his eyes on his friends rather than the hot guys that surrounded them. That's when he noted something strangely curious, something about Mikey which caught his attention. Michael was standing off to one side with his back turned to the gang and was looking furtively over his shoulder. If you looked at the mirror behind the bar it appeared almost as if he was adding something to a bottle of beer. Emmett knew he shouldn't be concerned, after all Michael had been Brian's 'best friend' for years as he was telling everybody all the time. But something made him move closer.

"Hey, Bri," Mikey shouted over the noise. "I got you a beer."

Emmett watched as Brian turned toward Michael and politely refused, but Mikey kept on whining and insisting until Brian finally took it from him. What struck Emmett as being a little odd was how persistent Michael was being. He knew from things he'd heard that Brian shouldn't be drinking and as his friend he certainly wasn't going to be the one to push him to do so. So why was Michael?

At that point Emmett allowed himself to be distracted when a hot hunk started flirting with him, after all it was Babylon and he was there to have fun. After another cosmos or two, he found someone to dance with. He was shimming to the beat when he spotted Brian heading for the backroom. He wouldn't have thought anything about it, except for the unpleasantly smug look he caught on Michael's face when he glanced over Brian's shoulder. With that in mind he grabbed his current dance partner and followed along.

Emmett could see right away that something was not right, for one thing Brian's walk was funny and his gait was a tad off. Now as long as Emmett had known Brian he'd never once seen him uncoordinated. Brian was wobbling a little and breathing heavily when he pushed through the chains that still adorned the backroom. To Emmett's surprise Brian handed off his guy to ... Todd? The chief bottom boy of Babylon?  
Teddy had once let it slip that Todd was an employee at Babylon. Emmett had asked why and had been told he needed to ask the boss. So he did.

Brian's response was, and I quote "First rate bottoms are hard to come by and Todd is worth his weight in gold."

Speaking of ... where was he? In the blink of an eye Brian had managed to vanish. A glance at the back of the back room showed him going up the stairs toward his office. Emmett began to breathe easier. He knew Ted was up those stairs.

QAF

 

When Michael suggested going to Babylon, Theodore Schmidt didn't know whether to be upset or relieved. Upset because he knew it wouldn't be good for his boss and friend and relieved because he wouldn't have to go home. A home without Blake, who had left him for a younger man. Then for a recovering addict, Babylon wasn't the safest of places, though hiding away in Brian's office going over the books did help.

The door opened and he looked up to see Brian leaning against the door, his face pale. Getting out of his seat he asked worriedly, "Boss, are you okay?" He hurried over and helped Brian to the couch.

Brian shook his head. "Don't know. So tired."

He started to gag and Ted hurriedly put the trash can in front of him. Ted also went and pulled a bottle of water out of the small fridge Brian kept in his office. Brian drank it all down, then settled back pulling a pillow under his head. 

There was a time when Ted had been envious of Brian. Brian Kinney could have anyone he wanted and had. Then a young twink came into his life and Bri had someone that cared about him. Sure they had their ups and downs. Broke up to make up. It looked like Brian was finally going to have it all. Then Gus and the girls moved to Canada and Kinney's twink went to New York for fame and fortune. Ted had felt oddly superior, he had Blake. Well, not anymore. 

"Are you going to be okay?" Ted asked with concern.

Brian shook his head, not understanding why he felt the way he felt. "Don't know." He mumbled.

Ted watched as Brian tried to settle comfortably on the sofa. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd dealt with the big C before. The last time he'd tried to do it alone. "Do you plan to tell him?" he asked quietly.

Brian stared up at the ceiling, debating how and if he wanted to answer that. Drowsiness swept over and he felt himself sinking into sleep.

Ted worried as he watched Brian's eyes flutter before closing and his arm fall, hanging over the side of the couch. With a sigh he went back to the books, realizing that he and Brian weren't so different after all.

QAF

To be perfectly honest, Babylon wasn't as much fun as it used to be. Emmett was more than ready to go home. But something weird was going on with Michael. He'd been to the backroom several times - alone and each time he came out he seemed upset. 

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Emmett asked on the third such trip.

"It's that damn Brian. He went into the backroom thirty minutes ago and he hasn't come out," Mikey groused.

Emmett's phone beeped, he checked it while asking, "And why is this your problem? Brian's a grown boy."

"I'm his best friend. We look out for each other." Mikey whined indignantly.

Emmett rolled his eyes, Michael's attitude rubbed him the wrong way, but he didn't feel up to challenging him on it. The phone text was from Ted who was ready to leave. "Well, doodle loo, I gotta' go." Emmett flashed a fake sympathetic smile at his old roommate and headed to the stairs leading up to Brian's office.

Emmett burst into the office and Ted immediately shushed him, pointing to a sleeping Brian. 

Lowering his voice Emmett said, "You really ought to lock your door. You never know who might barge in."

Ted was putting the books away in the safe. "Anyone in particular?"

Sighing, Emmett settled on the corner of Brian's desk. "Michael. I don't understand why it is, when he has a hunk like Ben, he feels it's necessary to keep track of Brian."

Ted could only nod in agreement. "Let's wake up sleeping beauty. Bri. Bri. Time for all good boys to go to bed."

Emmett snickered while Brian woke and followed along zombie like. Down the back stairway and out the back door, Emmett drove Brian home in his jeep, having traded in his Corvette, while Ted followed to take Em back home. Casting a worried look at Brian, Emmett asked, "Honey, you feeling okay?"

Brian shook his head, not understanding why he felt so groggy. "I didn't take anything. Why do I feel like I do?"

They turned a corner and saw flames.

Shockingly Emmett was unable to get closer than a block away. The three of them ended up walking to Trenton Ave and found Mikey screaming to the firemen that his best friend was being burnt alive inside. He wasn't alone, Ben was kept busy trying unsuccessfully to calm his husband down.

Emmett and Brian exchanged looks.

Brian walked over, with Emmett and Ted close behind. "Fuck, Mikey."

Mikey turned around, his eyes opening wide. Then he grabbed onto Brian for all he was worth and continued bawling leaving Brian puzzled. 

"I thought you were dead," Mikey sniffled.

Exchanging a commiserated look with Ben, Brian asked, "Why the fuck would you think that?"

"I looked all over for you and you left without telling me goodbye," Michael said petulantly, his grip on Brian so tight that Brian was having trouble breathing.

Emmett caught the look of panic in Brian's eyes and quickly made his way over, carefully disengaging Brian from Mikey's grasp. 

In the meantime Ted stopped one of the scurrying firemen to ask. "How bad is it?"

The man paused, his face black with soot. "Looks like a total gut job."

"Gut? Shit. My TV and stereo. Oh fuck, my clothes," Brian lamented. "My bed."

"Don't worry, Bri," Mikey said cheerily. "You can come stay with me."

Seeing the look of desperation on Brian's face, Emmett pulled him away. "He's coming with me."

Before Mikey could object, Em bundled Brian into the jeep. He looked back and saw Ted and Ben trying to hold back an agitated Michael. Ted looked at him and mouthed the word. 'Go.' Shaking his head, Emmett turned on the ignition and drove off.

QAF  
( Brian and Emmett roommates? Rather an odd couple)

The ride to my place was strangely quiet. Brian hadn't objected at all when he'd been hustled into his jeep and seemed to be almost catatonic. He kept muttering over and over "My loft, my fucking loft. It's gone. Fuck."

"Come on, Bri. Let's get you upstairs," I coaxed as we pulled up to my apartment building. I shut the engine off, got out and walked around to the other side to open the passenger door, still hearing Brian’s stunned words.

"It's gone. All gone. Poof." Brian’s eyes had a glazed look in them as I took him by the arm and gently pulled him out of the jeep “I can’t believe it.” 

"I know, Baby," I console him as I unlock my apartment door. I settled Brian on the sofa and got him a pillow and blanket.

"I've lost everything. Justin, Gus ... my loft." Brian tries to explain while I do my best to undress him.

Just when Brian finally fell asleep the phone rang and I hurried to answer it before it could wake him.  
I moved to the kitchen and brought the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Em?"

I let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, Teddy, it's you."

"You want to tell me what's going on? Why didn't you want Brian to go with Mikey?"

"Teddy, can you imagine if he had? I really don't think Brian can handle the smothering Michael, or for that matter Deb, would put him though. You know as well as I do that something is not right with Brian. He was acting strangely."

"I know, but he swore he didn't take anything."

"I believe him. However, that doesn't mean someone else didn't slip him something." My mind went back to Michael's strange behavior in Babylon. I didn't want to think that Michael would have slipped Brian something. "Michael should never have insisted that Brian go to Babylon." 

"If he hadn't Brian might have been in the loft when it went up," Ted reminded me. "Em, I just wanted to see if everything was okay? And to let Brian know that I'll be in touch with his insurance company in the morning. Also, you might want to consider finding a new place to stash him. Ben and I talked Mikey out of disturbing him for tonight, but..."

"Yeah, I know. Honey, if we thought Justin was a stalker it's nothing compared to Michael Novotny when he thinks Brian needs his 'best friend'."

Ted's laughter sounded over the line. "You're right. I told him you'd meet him at the diner for breakfast and fill him in. I won't be able to since I'll need to get the insurance crap started."

"Must I?" I couldn't help but pout, but Ted had already hung up. I checked up on Brian, then went to my room.

QAF

Brian Kinney was having the strangest dream. He was in Babylon with his best friend. Mikey was acting a little strange, which wasn't saying much since Mikey always acted a little strange. Mikey was easily influenced. Case in point was when he was with Doctor Dave and again when he got committed to Zen Ben. 

He was also manipulative, a trait he inherited from his mother. Hence Brian being in Babylon and drinking a beer he didn't want or need. Mikey kept pushing him to get laid. It wasn't that he was opposed to the idea, it was just that he tired easily and wasn't in the mood. 

Just to keep the peace, he took the guy Mikey had found him and entered the backroom. Pushing back the chains that covered the entrance he spotted Todd, a Babylon mainstay, leaning against the wall in his usual stance. 

"How's it going?"

"Fine."

It was going to be finer when Brian pushed the guy over to Todd, let him take care of things. At that point his cell phone rang. He made a grab for it, his mind still wrapped up in his dream, and he fell off the surface he'd been lying on.

“Ow! Fuck!” he groused as he sat up, fortunately, he'd managed to grip the phone before he fell and answered it. "Kinney."

"Brian, where are you? You have a meeting in ..." He recognized the voice as belonging to Cynthia. "...forty-five minutes." 

"Gah," His mouth was dry. "I'll be there," he croaked. He broke the connection and brought the phone to his chest. Looking up at the ceiling, one he didn't recognize, Brian wandered where the fuck he was.

"Brian, are you okay?" A worried voice asked.

Turning his head to see who was talking, Brian found his vision blocked by an unfamiliar coffee table, he used it to pull himself up and allowed the blanket covering him to slide to the floor. There standing in a doorway was Emmett Honeycutt, dressed in sleeping pants and a tee shirt. That meant that this must be Emmett's apartment. "I'm fine. What the fuck am I doing here?"

Emmett looked him up and down appreciatively. "Ummm hummm, you definitely are. As for why you're here..."

It all came back to him. "Fuck. My loft. It's gone."

"I'm afraid so..." Emmett sashayed over to him and handed him a cup of coffee. "...it was either here or go home with Mikey."

A pained expression crossed Brian's face as he sank back onto the couch. "Thanks, Emmett. I don't think I could have taken it staying at chez Novotny-Bruckner's. " Then he dropped his head into his hands. "Fuck. I have a meeting to attend and nothing to wear."

"Au contraire," Emmett said and sashayed into his bedroom coming out after a few moments with a suit of clothing, dark green with a dark green shirt and mustard tie. 

Brian's jaw dropped. "Honeycutt, you own an Armani suit?"

"Of course. You're not the only one who can dress well." 

"It's ... green."

"Beggars can't be choosers. I'll let you have the bathroom seeing as you have a meeting." Emmett hurried out the room, Brian unclothed was more than he could handle. He adjusted himself as he headed back to his kitchen, thoughts of Deb in the morning doing the trick in bringing his hard-on under control.

Emmett's apartment wasn't very big, but it was all his. His apartment was in an old building and had a lot of character, best of all it had a doorman. Faster than you would have thought possible Brian was back in the kitchen, adjusting a tie that wasn't mustard yellow. Emmett didn't recognize it at first. He thought it might have been one that Ted had given him for his birthday several years ago. Trust Brian to find the one tie that wouldn't hurt his sensibilities. 

"Thanks, Em. How's it look?"

Emmett circled Brian with a critical eye. The pants might be a little tight in the crotch, Brian's junk being bigger, but the jacket covered it well. The sleeves were a tad long, otherwise it looked as if the suit were made for him. The color, which Em had picked to enhance his hair, brought out the green in Brian's eyes. "Not bad. Now you'll have the pleasure of buying more."

Brian glanced at Emmett. "Speaking of buying more, could you pick me up a few things?" he asked, picking up his wallet.

Emmett sighed, as if all put out, when in effect he was secretly pleased that Brian trusted him enough to shop for him. He held out his hand for the credit card Brian passed to him. "Any specific limit I should keep to?"

"Naw, the insurance company's payout should cover it." Then Brian Kinney actually kissed him, true it was on the side of his forehead, but...."

Emmett was experiencing warm feelings for Brian until he went to bathe and found that Brian had taken his last clean pair of underwear.

QAF  
(Mikey and his mouth cause trouble)

I walked into the diner just in time to hear the overly loud voice of Brian's 'best friend'.

"You know what? I wouldn't put it past him to have burned his apartment down."

What the fuck?... I thought as I hurried to the last booth, noting everyone was turned toward it listening in. Oh no, now it's going to be all over Liberty!... I stopped in front of the booth Michael and Ben were occupying, my hands curled into fists on my hips. "And why would you say a thing like that?"

Mikey jumped up and looked around. "Where's Brian?" he whined.

I slid onto the bench seat across from them. "Brian had an early meeting. Now why would you say something like that and so loudly?"

"He ditched me last night, so he could have done it." Mikey asserted. 

I knew for a fact that Brian had not left the club, but I held my tongue, knowing that whatever I said would be discounted by my former roommate. 

"Hey, Em." Deb showed up, smacking her gum and pulling her feather tipped pen from behind her ear, causing a distraction. "What'll you have? We have those blueberry pancakes you like."

I considered and smiled. "No thanks. I think I'll have an egg white omelet and toast." 

Deb looked at me doubtfully. I can't blame her, that was the type of meal that Brian would have ordered. "At least have some butter on your toast."

"And jelly." I agreed. No sense in going overboard. Michael was ranting on and on about the injustices of Brian. Ben, after having warned Mikey that he was being too loud, shook his head then appeared to ignore his husband's ravings. Once my breakfast arrived, I, too, let my mind drift. At least until I got hit in the face with a wadded up napkin.

"You're not listening to a thing I'm saying!" Mikey bitched.

It had taken me years to realize that what Michael's concept of Brian as an asshole was a tad faulty. True Brian could be an asshole, but not the way Mikey presented it.

"Sorry," I said, though I really wasn't. "I'm afraid I must go. You know places to be, people to see."

Michael smirked. "Don't you mean people to do?"

"Haha." I fake laugh. I stand up and grab my check. "No!" I say bluntly before walking away.

QAF

I'm practically bouncing as I make my way to Brian's office. I had a fabulous time shopping on Brian's dime and I mentally go over everything I've gotten and think maybe I should have left them at my apartment instead of lugging them all over. 

Underwear, check. Socks, check. T-shirts, check. Sleep pants, double check. Shirts- white, red, black and pink. Two suits- one dark gray, the other beige, waiting for Brian to go in for a fitting. Ties- to compliment the suits. Two pair of shoes- one pair black, and the other brown. Anything Brian didn't like could be returned, or better yet kept for myself!

As I got closer I could hear yelling coming from Brian's office. I hurried and arrived just in time to hear Brian bellow, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY WON'T HONOR MY CLAIM?"

Dropping the bags on the leather couch, I sank down. "Uh oh."

Unfortunately Brian caught sight of me and directed his ire at me. "Honeycutt, what do you know about this?"

Before I could say 'don't call me Honeycutt' the door burst open and two policemen hustled in with Cynthia following close behind. 

"Brian Kinney?" One of them asked. Barely waiting for a nod of confirmation, one of them withdrew a pair of handcuffs and moved toward the tall man whose mouth was hanging open. "You're under arrest for arson. You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. Do you understand these rights as I've given them to you?"

Before Brian could respond, they were hustling him out the doorway and down the hall. "Fuck! Ted!" Brian turned and called over his shoulder.

Teddy came out of the stupor he was in and hurried after them and pulled out his phone with me not far behind. "Boss, don't worry I'll take care of calling your lawyer."

Cynthia was yelling wanting to know what was going on, and nobody was answering her. I moved to one side and pulled out my phone to call the diner. There was only one person I could think of that might help in this situation and there was only one way to get in touch with him.

"Liberty Diner."

"Deb, thank God. Can you give me Carl's number."

"Carl? What the fuck to you need him for?"

"Just give me the fucking number. It's an emergency!"

The next sound I heard was "Horvath here."

"Carl, thank heavens, this is Emmett. Brian's been arrested for arson, you need to get your ass over there and do something." 

"What the heck are you talking about?" Carl asked. "Why would they do something like that?"

I had a pretty good idea why, but I didn't think it would be wise to say. "How the hell should I know? They hustled him away so fast." 

"Damn. Do you know what precinct?"

"No, but Ted's following them. Don't ya'll have some sort of network to let you know?"

Things sort of got out of hand after this. The telephone lines were burning. Ted got in touch with Brian's lawyer and explained where they were as well as why. Then he contacted Cynthia who was doing her best to hold everything together. She in turn told me what she knew. I rushed to met up with Ted at the precinct where we found out that Brian was rushed to the hospital. Before we could leave for the hospital and to find out why, they met up with Carl just as he was walking into the precinct. 

Carl had checked around and found that the fire department had not been able to determine the cause of the fire yet, but there were rumors going around that Brian Kinney had torched the place for the insurance money. How those rumors had started he hadn't been able to find out.

I slumped down into the nearest chair and closed my eyes. "Michael."

"Michael?" Ted asked in disbelief.

I looked around and then leaned forward and lowered my voice. "This morning at the diner, Mikey was spouting off loud and long that Brian must have set the fire."

"Michael?" Carl shook his head. "His best friend? Why would he say a thing like that?"

"Because he couldn't find Brian at Babylon last night," I stated.

Ted's eyebrows kind of scrunched together and he had this confused look on his face. "But Brian never left Babylon. He was with me until we took him home and found his building in blazes." 

"Can you prove that?" Carl asked.

Ted hesitated while Brian's lawyer shook his head. "You're his employee. Anything you say will be discredited. 

...There must be some way... I thought, feeling discouraged and then it hit me. "The security cameras?"

Ted nodded approvingly. Then he explained to the lawyer and Carl. "When Brian rebuilt Babylon he had top of the line security cameras installed. He felt that the crud that bombed Babylon would not have gotten away if there had been working surveillance cameras."

The best part was all the tapes were fed to another location. Brian hadn't skimped on security, he wanted his friends safe. They even had face recognition software and would have no problems tracking Brian's movements. 

QAF

After Ted called Cynthia and told her to call the security company to get the tapes ready for us to pick them up, Ted and I hoofed it over to the hospital with Carl following along in his car. Carl somehow managed to sweet-talk Brian's hospital room number out of the nurse at the front desk and the next thing I know we're walking through the door to his room. Luckily the doctor was standing just inside the door, and Ted and I cornered and badgered him until he reluctantly told us that Brian's heart had started racing and that he'd nearly fainted while he was in the back of the police car. Of course, it might have had something to do with the fact that Carl flashed his badge in the man's face.

Brian was kind of out of it while we were there so we didn't stay long, just long enough to give him our 'get well' and 'see you tomorrows' then we were out of there.

I was truly weary when I entered the diner, intent on getting something to eat, then going home to my bed. 

Unfortunately Michael was standing in one of the back booths waving his arm and yelling. "Emmett. Over here."

I mentally rolled my eye as I placed my order and reluctantly went over and sank onto the seat across from Ben and Michael.

"Where's Brian? I've been trying to get in touch with him all day!" Michael whined.

"It seems somebody was telling everyone who had ears that Brian had set fire to his apartment and the cops arrested him." I pointed out.

"Who the hell would say such a thing?" Michael asked indignantly and looked around to find the culprit. 

I couldn't believe my ears. I looked at Ben for conformation. 

Ben merely shook his head and gently broke the news to his husband. "You did."

"But... but I was just joking," Michael sank back to his seat protesting feebly. Then he perked up. "Maybe a little jail time will do him some good."

Right then I felt like slapping Brian's 'best friend' in the face. ...A little jail time will do him some good? Serious?... Even Ben covered his face, not quite believing what was coming out of his husband's mouth.

"He's not in jail, no thanks to you. He's in the hospital." 

"The hospital!" Michael squealed and tried to climb over Ben to get out of the booth. " I have to go to him." 

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Michael." Ben pulled him back. "I think Emmett has more to tell us."

I debated on telling Michael anything but knew that the man would not stop pestering me until he got what he wanted. After going to the security company and getting the tapes that proved without a shadow of a doubt that Brian Kinney was innocent of all charges, Carl and Brian's lawyer had taken the tapes to the precinct and gotten the ball rolling. Then Teddy and I, along with Cynthia had a long discussion.

"You'll be happy to know that they've dropped the charges, no thanks to you," I said looking pointedly at Michael. "And Brian's attorney thinks they have a good case of false arrest against the cops. He also feels strongly that Brian should file suit against the person who started the malicious rumor that nearly got him incarcerated."

Ben turned white, but Michael on the other hand, just waved that thought away like he didn't have a care in the world. "He wouldn't do that, I'm his best friend."

If Michael hadn't been so arrogant and self-assured, especially when I thought he was probably right, he probably would have kept his mouth shut. But the devil in me made me open my mouth. "Maybe, he wouldn't, but Cynthia would." Cynthia did not like Michael at all.

"What?" Michael blurted. "She can't do that!"

"She can if she has his POA." I said shrugging my shoulders.

"I thought Justin has his POA?" You could see Michael was getting worried.

My name was called and I grabbed my meal, but I just had to have the last word before leaving the diner. "Apparently not." 

QAF  
(Cynthia takes charge)

Blonde haired Cynthia Moore was more than just Brian's second in command, she was the backbone of Kinnetik. They'd worked together since their early days at Ryder's; Brian had taken a chance on someone from the secretarial pool and grooming her into doing research before making her his assistant, and they'd risen up the ranks in Ryder together. 

Over the past few years, Brian had gone through a great deal of changes. He was still an asshole to those who incurred his wrath, but those who came through for him were well rewarded. The best thing was, he never treated her any different then let's say the Bobbsie Twins, Bob and Brad. If she fucked up he let her know, on the other hand when she did something he liked, he gave her credit for her part. 

He'd learned not to try to deal with things on his own and Cynthia was fortunate enough to have his trust, and in turn she had his back. 

Over the years she'd learned his quirks, but one thing she was certain of was that Brian Kinney would not light a match and torch his own apartment. In fact anyone who really knew Brian would have known that. She had known that he'd been thinking of moving, but wouldn't until he'd found the perfect place.

The first thing on her agenda was to get the charges dropped. The fact that charges had been brought on such flimsy evidence was puzzling. Having worked with Brian a number of years she was more than a little surprised by the charges. When she heard the story of why he was accused and by whom, she'd been understandably angry. 

She had never understood the dynamics of Brian's friendship with Michael Novotney. Brian was smart, his attitude was to do his best and he expected that of everyone else, except Michael. Michael coasted through life, letting other people tell him what to do and how to do it. 

She knew Ted because he had become one of the few trusted members of Brian's company, but she had never had many dealings with Emmett Honeycutt, and one of the things that surprised her lately was how protective Emmett was of Brian. She wasn't aware that the two men were particularly close, and it was Emmett's concern for Brian that made her decide to keep him in the loop, and she was glad she did. It was he who suggested the surveillance tapes that proved without a shadow of doubt Brian's innocence.

In the meantime she had felt better when they transferred Brian to a hospital. That 's when she discovered and was beyond surprised that she had been named Brian's POA. At first she wondered what the hell he was thinking, but the more she thought about it the more it began to make sense and she took a perverse pride in doing the best job for Brian. She was proud of the fact that he trusted her enough to choose her over his 'best friend'. 

While he'd been doing as well as could be expected with his latest illness, being arrested was hardly conducive to his health and she made sure that he got the best medical care she could find. She agreed with Brian's doctors that it wasn't in his best interests to be told about his test results, such as they were, especially once his condition worsened. 

When Brian's blood test came back showing some unusual substance, she noticed that Emmett seemed to know something. Using her powers of persuasion, Cynthia managed to get Emmett to confess what he thought he saw at Babylon. As far as Michael was concerned, Cynthia wouldn't put anything past him, but what escaped her was his reasoning for doing something like that.

Then it came the time for Brian to leave the hospital and Emmett insisted that Brian stay with him, but Cynthia was reluctant to agree. It wasn't until he mentioned that his apartment building had a doorman, that she changed her mind. Convincing Brian was going to be the problem.

She was greatly surprised to find that no convincing was necessary. None at all.

QAF

Finding himself in a hospital was not something Brian was happy about. Lately, it seemed, he spent all too much time there. The last few days were slowly coming back to him in between nurses coming in to check his blood pressure or wake him up to give him something to put him to sleep.

 

It took him awhile to piece together the last two days of his life. His last distinct memory was in his office talking to Ted and being told that the insurance company wasn't planning to pay for his apartment being destroyed by fire. Then the police turning up to cart him away, and after that things got a little blurry, until he'd woken up in the hospital.

He remembered all too well the supper at Deb's. A more boring meal he'd never had! Not even Emmett could have saved it.

Then Mikey had pushed for them to go to Babylon. He'd been difficult all evening, more clinging than normal and even though Brian didn't want to go out, Mikey had turned on his puppy dog eyes. He was tired, lately he always seemed to be tired and he hated that. He remembered that the music was loud and vibrating through him. His head was hurting and he just wanted to go home. After that things got a little blurry and the next thing he remembered clearly was going home to find his building in flames. 

True, he'd been surprised to find himself waking up at Honeycutt's, but once he wrapped his mind around the fact that he was homeless, he started making plans for finding a new place. His life over the last couple of years had been a jumble. Memories of Justin tainted the loft and finding some place new was actually something he'd been thinking on for a while. The loft held too many memories, some good, some not so good. It felt as if it was time to let it go. That's what he decided to concentrate on.

Just when he felt ready, the business had taken a turn downward and he'd had to deal with everything related to that. Both Cynthia and Ted had been his saving grace, seeing him through the worse of it and making things happen. In fact he was going to have to consider making Cynthia partner.

Thank goodness Cynthia was not only on top of things happening with Kinnetik but watching out for him too. She let him know that the insurance company would most definantly be settling and there was a suit against the police department, but he shouldn't count on seeing the money anytime soon .

The problem was - where was he going to live in the meantime. Evidentially other people had the same thought. Mikey had offered for him to move into his and Ben's home, an offer that made Brian shudder. Deb also volunteered her home. Now that thought was more than a little scary. 

Then there was Emmett. They'd never been what you'd call close friends, and Emmett had been more Mikey's friend then his. The same could have been said for Ted. Now he relied on Ted, and felt that he could do the same with Emmett. Their previous relationship had mostly been based on insults and barbs, but lately things have mellowed. 

Speak of the devil.

QAF  
(Emmett takes over)

"Hi, Sweetie , how're you feeling?" I sauntered in, a huge bag hanging from my hand. I looked at the tray in front of Brian and scrunched my nose. "I hope you're not planning on eating that shit?" I asked as I swept the tray away and started pulling out things from my bag. 

In spite of the way Brian was probably feeling, I noticed that his nose picked up on the most delightful mouthwatering scents coming from my bag. 

"We have here a lightly whipped egg white omelet, with two slices of turkey bacon. Then homemade toast, no butter, and voila a small quart of guava juice and your favorite double low fat latte." I chattered away as I withdrew each item. 

Sitting in a nearby chair I pretended to read a magazine while surreptitiously watching as Brian took a tentative taste of the omelet. When Brian finally finished I had to ask. "Well...what did you think of it?"

Brian wiped his mouth. "It was...okay."

I was relieved; an okay from Brian was tantamount to getting a fantastic from anyone else. I had been fairly sure that Brian would like it and with Cynthia's approval, I had talked with Brian's doctor about the things Brian could and could not have, especially after the day Deb showed up with what she considered comfort food.  
(flashback)

I well remember the day Deb and Michael found out that Brian was in the hospital and decided to visit. That was before anyone had thought to put limits on who could be allowed in. Cynthia had left to take care of business, and moi had decided to keep Brian company. You see Brian wasn't in the best of moods that day and who could blame him, his hair was all over the place, his beard was getting shaggy, but despite that the bastard still looked sexy enough to eat. 

The nurse was just finishing drawing blood when Deb pushed her way through the door, with Michael following after her. 

"Brian, you asshole. What the fuck are you doing here?" Michael asked loudly, as if he didn't know?

Unfortunately, I hadn't yet had a chance to explain Michael's part in Brian's arrest to him so he was in the dark as far as that was concerned. The doctor walked in just as Deb pulled out a Styrofoam container of turkey meatloaf and laid it in front of Brian. Oh lord, I couldn't believe my eyes when the doctor took one look at it and pushed the food off into the garbage. 

Instead of being properly chastised, Debbie bitched. "What the fuck did you do that for?" 

"What are you trying to do? Kill him?" Brian's doctor asked in turn.

Debbie huffed indignantly. "Well, I never."

Michael, of course, had to put his two cents in. "Briaan, are you going to let him talk to my mom that way?" 

It would have been funny except for the fact that Brian's stomach wasn't up to par at the moment so the smell of the fat in the meatloaf had what little he had in it making a reappearance. 

Now I'm not stupid by any means and I knew how I'd feel in a similar situation, so I hurriedly rushed both Deb and Michael out of the room to the sound of their objections and let the nurses take care of the mess.

"How dare that doctor say I was trying to kill Brian. I love that boy like my own son!" Debbie ranted.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that." I told her, trying my best to placate her. "It's just that right now Brian has to be careful what he puts in his stomach."

Deb had the decency to look abashed. "I didn't know it was that bad."

That was when I decided that it would be a good idea to approach the doctor about just what it was Brian could and couldn't have, just to be on the safe side. 

It never really occurred to me to wonder why I was so willing to protect and do everything to take care of Brian and open my home to him, to me there was just no other choice. 

The doctors had confirmed that there was an unknown drug in Brian's system that might be responsible for his current condition and with my suspicions that Mikey was the culprit I couldn't in good consciousness let Brian go stay with his boyhood 'best friend'.  
QAF

Brian knew he had no other choice as well. He didn't even complain about sleeping on the couch; after all, it was only temporary until he got his own place.

Brian's only doubt about staying with Emmett, was that Em might constantly be asking him if he was all right. Smothering him like they both knew Deb would have done, strangely, though, their co-habitation was fairly harmonious. Brian would wake up in the morning to sounds of Emmett puttering around in the kitchen. He'd make his way to the bathroom, take care of business and get ready for work.

When he came out breakfast was on the table. Not merely egg white omelets, plain toast, and guava juice. There has been oatmeal, which he'd never considered eating. But this had fruit in it and a sweetener that Emmett swore was approved by his doctor. He even had his lunch packed and ready for him.

Brian tried to explain that he didn't need to cook for him, but Emmett insisted that Brian was his guinea pig for new recipes and he was thinking of putting together a cookbook.

After about a week of such meals, that included something different for every meal, Brian started feeling better and he wasn't as tired as he'd been for the last couple of months. He'd come back from work; change into jeans and a wife beater to find a note directing him to the refrigerator to a salad, freshly made. 

Once in a while they'd just sit and talk about what Brian wanted in a new place, and one thing Brian decided was that he wanted something different. As soon as Ted gave the okay he would call Jennifer to see what she could find for him.

When Brian needed to go to his doctor for a follow-up, Emmett un-surprisingly insisted on going with him. While waiting, Emmett enjoyed looking at the different magazines stashed around the waiting rooms and pointing out things he thought Brian would like in his new place. Brian pretended to ignore him, while secretly enjoying how uncomfortable he was making his fellow patients. From the twinkle in Em's eyes and his over-the-top antics, Brian felt that he was enjoying himself too. Never had a visit gone so fast! Emmett was adamant on following him into the office and listening to what the doctor had to say and asking intelligent questions. Brian had to wonder why?

He was quick to tell Emmett that they weren't in a relationship to which he informed him that, of course they weren't; if they were they'd be sharing a bed after he stopped laughing his ass off. 

Staying with Emmett wasn't as bad as Brian had thought. When he wanted company Emmett was there, when he didn't he was gone. He wondered if Em was channeling Mysterious Marilyn. Every once in a while he would ask if he wanted to join them at Woody's.

That was how Brian found himself at Woody's watching Ted and Emmett playing pool. It was nice to spend a relaxing evening, something he hadn't done in a while. All work and no play made Brian a dull boy. Plus he'd felt like celebrating- the news from his doctor was good, Ted had given the okay to start looking for a new place and a budget that wasn't too bad. His sex life hadn't been all that great of late and he was pleased that several guys cruised him as he worked his way around the table, but strangely he wasn't all that interested. He paused between shots to wonder if that was something he should be worried about.

He was leaning over the table, ready to take his shot when out of nowhere....

"Briiian. Where have you been?" was shrieked in his ear and arms were wrapped around him messing up his shot. He stood up straight and peeled Mikey off of him, noticing Ted and Emmett exchanged looks before putting away their cues. "I've left messages all over and you never fucking returned my calls."

The gang sat down at one of the nearby tables and Brian took a sip of his beer. "What can I say, Mikey. I've been busy."

"Too busy to talk with your best friend?" Michael complained loudly. 

Ted had gone off to get drinks for everyone. A cosmo for Emmett, and beers for him, Brian, and Michael. He could feel the tension at the table and evidently decided to defuse it somewhat. "Where's Ben?"

"Grading papers." Mikey said shortly before turning back to Brian. "You know, I was hoping to find you here. I thought it would be nice to get together and go to Babylon. Like old times." Mikey looked critically at Brian and frowned. "Should you be drinking?"

"That's rich coming from you," Emmett muttered under his breath.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Michael asked.

Emmett hesitated, then decided to come out with it. "What do you think I mean. He wouldn't have ended up in the hospital if it weren't for you."

"That was not my fault. I had nothing to do with that and by the way it's none of your fucking business." Mikey denied guiltily.

Brian watched as Emmett turned from being excited about Brian's search for a new place to fiercely protective of him and didn't understanding why. That wasn't the only thing, he also notice Ted surreptitiously texting on his cell phone. He decided to just settle back in his seat and watch. 

Emmett actually sneered at Mikey. "Didn't you? I was there and I saw you spike his drink."

"I only did that to get him to relax! As his best friend it's my responsibility to see to the fact that he doesn't moping around. He wasn't having any fun." Mikey defended himself.

"Oh, I don't know. How many guys have hit on you since we've been here. Bri?" Ted asked, while still texting.

Brian was still trying to get his mind wrapped around the fact that his so called best friend had spiked his drink, that explained so much.

"I'd say at least nine or ten, wouldn't you say, Brian?" Emmett offered. 

There had only been maybe four or five, but far be it for him to contradict Em. 

"Sounds about right," Brian murmured.

"I swear, I'd never hurt my best friend!" Mikey pleaded. 

"Some best friend. It makes me wonder what else you've mislead us about." Emmett huffed.

"I've never lied to you," Mikey insisted.

"Oh? Does 'he calls me, practically begs me to go with him, knowing full well I'm with someone for the first time in I don't know how long!' sound familiar?" 

Everyone turned toward the table in the corner to the six- foot person with a brunet wig wearing a bright red dress and shuffling a stack of oversized cards. She looked up and arched a brow.

"How could you know about that, you weren't there!" Mikey complained.

Emmett thought about that, it did sound familiar. "Wasn't that the day after Gus was born?"

Brian frowned. "What the fuck? I don't remember a lot from that night, but I distinctly remember telling you to stay and fuck the shit out of the guy. You're the one who insisted that I come pick you up."

Mikey looked like he was about to cry. Fortunately for him Ben showed up just then in answer to Ted's text message. "What's up, guys?"

"Ben! I thought you were grading papers?" Mikey seemed happy enough to see his husband. "I thought about getting Brian over to Babylon so he could get some action in the backroom."

Ben sighed. What was Michael thinking? Before anything could be decided one of Babylon's buffed bouncers came over and appeared to whisper something suggestive in Brian's ear.

"Ted texted and asked me to come escort you home," he whispered so no one could hear him and smiled sexily at the gang.

Brian glared at Ted who studiously ignored him. Then he thought about it. Tongue in cheek, he got up and grabbed his savior by the belt loop. "Sorry, boys. It looks like something's come up."

"Briiiian," Mike whined and got up to follow him, but Ben held him back. He pouted. "I just wanted to spend some time with him."

"Where am I going to sleep tonight?" Emmett asked worriedly.

Ted placed his arm around Emmett. "Tell you what, why don't we all go to Babylon and dance. I'm sure that by the time we finish, Brian will be done." The fact that the bouncer was straight and had a wife as well as two kids never entered into it. 

QAF  
(With Emmett's help Brian finds his new home.)

The next morning found Brian and I at the diner for a meeting with Jennifer Taylor. I was practically bouncing with excitement, more so than Brian, and not because I was finally getting my apartment back.

As we walk in, I saw Deb hanging up the phone before charging over to our table. "What did you do to Michael last night?"

I exchanged puzzled looks with Brian. What the fuck was she going on about this time? Fortunately we didn't have to wait for an explanation.

"He was so excited about getting together with everyone and going to Babylon."

Brian shrugged. "What can I say, Deb. Something came up."

Deb leaned over and pointed a sharp red fingernail in Brian's face. "And that's another thing, Asshole. You had no consideration for poor Emmett, bringing a trick into his home."

"I offered to share," Brian replied as he leaned further away from the red claw.

I had to hide my snicker before she decided to wave that finger at me. The weird thing was that if the guy had been a trick, I think Brian would actually have offered to share.

"Oh," Deb answered and withdrew her finger and pulled the feathered pen from behind her ear. "Want your usual?"

Brian rubbed his jaw, which was getting a little scruffy. And damn it if he didn't look good like that. "Actually I was thinking of ordering oatmeal with fruit, and coffee."

I was so proud of him. He was going to need his strength for all that was to come and he was eating healthy. Not that he wasn't before. "I'll have the same."

Deb smacked her gum and went to put our order in at the window. Brian had a newspaper and passed a section to me, the society page no less. There was nothing interesting, so I was finished as Deb brought out our dishes. The oatmeal was lumpy and the berries were frozen. I took a bite nonetheless; I mean how bad could it be? Blegh!

"Deb, would it be possible to have some brown sugar?"

She actually had the nerve to laugh at me. "There's sugar right there, honey." And she pointed to the little packets that contain processed and artificial sugar. Not exactly what I'd call healthy.

"Honey?" Brian asked. Actually honey was not a bad idea.

"Yes, Sweetie?" Deb cackled back.

I rolled my eyes. God, what have I done to deserve this? I glanced at Brian, whose lips were folded inward as if he was trying his best not to laugh and I couldn't begrudge him. Lord knows he hadn't had much to laugh about lately.

"Hardy, har! Can you just get me some honey, please?"

"Sure, Sugar." 

I shook my head as Deb left cackling loudly, hopefully to get my honey. Just then Michael walked in. Don't get me wrong, Michael's a nice enough guy. He'd give you the shirt off his back. He used to be really insecure. But lately I've noticed he's changed and not for the better.

"Thanks, Maw." I'm wondering why he's thanking her as Mikey gave her a kiss on the cheek before sitting down next to Brian "What the fuck are you eating?"

"Oatmeal. Want some?" Brian dipped his spoon in and offered it to Michael, probably in the hope that Michael would leave. I was wondering why on earth had we accepted Jennifer's recommendation to meet here?

Michael squenched his nose. "No, thanks. Hey, Maw..."

"I know. One breakfast special coming up, honey." Deb was cackling again as she passed a jar of honey to Brian. She was not making eye contact and I couldn't help but think something strange was going on here. "Want some pancakes, too, Baby?"

"Sure." 

"So Mikey, what brings you here?" Brian asked.

"Can't I have breakfast with my best friend?" was Michael's response.

Neither Brian nor I said anything since we'd already heard from Ted how Michael had been there this very morning complaining about Brian blowing him off for a trick. And that's when I understood the thanking, Deb had called him when she saw us coming! Well, holy shit and it was all thanks to Deb.

Just then Jennifer Taylor walked in. She stopped and looked around before walking over to our table and sat next to me while sliding a binder toward Brian. Deb was currently placing Michael's meal in front of him. "Jen, what can I get you?"

"Tea, please. Good morning, Brian, Emmett." I detected a pause before she said. "Michael."

Michael's mouth was full but he mumbled. "Hi."

Brian was already leafing through the binder saying. "No. No. No." as he turned the pages.

Michael was peeking over his shoulder. "Hey, that one looks good."

Brian just glared at him and said. "No."

"Why not? It looks just like your loft." He shoveled in another bite.

"What if I don't want something like the loft? What if I want something different?"

Michael finally swallowed, then asked Jennifer. "How's Justin?"

"You got anything else?" Brian slammed the binder shut and slid it back to Jennifer. I felt like cheering. 

Jennifer sighed. "Okay, there are a few properties I can show you."

Brian pushed Michael out of the booth. "Let's go. You coming, Honeycutt?"

I nodded and took my last bite before following Jennifer. Michael started to tail after us, but Brian stopped him.

"You need to finish eating," he said as he pushed Michael back into the booth.

I could hear Michael shouting. "No, no. I'm done. I want to come."

But we were already out the door and off before he could get to the door. I turned and looked out the rear window. Michael was running down the sidewalk waving his arms. I know I shouldn't but I couldn't help it. I giggled then I frowned. Was Michael that dense? Just when had he become so malicious? Mentioning Justin was a low blow. I wonder if Jennifer's heard from him? 

I turned back to the front in time to hear Jennifer say, "I don't know what you want. Every one of those homes met your criteria."

"Could I see?" I ask. Brian passed the binder back. I flipped through the pages. I know that one of the important factors was a place for Gus. While they all met that, some just barely, none of them are well...Brian. "You found him Kinnetic, perhaps if you looked at it from that point of view."

Our eyes connected in the review mirror and I could tell that that thought had not occurred to her, but you could see the cogs beginning to turn in her head. We moved out of the suburban area we were currently in and drove nearer to the area I used to live with Michael. 

Soon we pulled up to this building with a for sale sign on one of the two large bay doors.

"What the fuck?" Brian asked.

"It's the old firehouse!" I informed him. It was on a corner lot and had been vacant for as long as I can remember. 

Jennifer nodded. We got out of the car and she rooted in her purse pulling out a key and unlocking the lockbox on the door and we stepped into ... yuck. 

She flicked on a light and we saw a huge cavern of brick walls and concrete floor covered in scattered papers and oil spots. Rusty lockers lined some of the walls and a fire pole was set off to one side. Eighteen feet ceilings housed commercial light fixtures and a set of metal stairs led up to a second floor. 

Brian led the way up them and I reluctantly followed. The upper floor was open with a commercial kitchen at one end with an old farmhouse sink, ancient countertops and a range that was large and very greasy, I was afraid to touch anything!

Brian was talking with Jennifer and following her from room to room. Frankly, I couldn't imagine what possessed Jennifer into showing this. I mean, I know the place has been empty, but please. I'm fairly fastidious and Brian even more so, and this place was just downright filthy. The other end of the area was divided into two big rooms, one of which contained beds that lined three of the four walls and are bolted to the floor. The other wall held a row of lockers, some with the doors ripped off. The other room turned out to be a communal bathroom, with a row of showers divided by flimsy walls. The baths had better showers; at least you could see the other guys.

I was shocked, really shocked when Brian asked how much they wanted and more so on hearing the price offering to buy this dump. I was totally surprised when he turned to me and smiled.

"Trust me, Em. This is just what I've been looking for."

That smile. I hadn't seen him this happy since before Justin left, so who was I to rain on his parade? 

A spiral staircase led to yet another floor. Brian, of course, braved those stairs and I, fool that I am, followed along. That third floor was dark, but somehow Jennifer found the light switch. The only thing up there was a dusty wooden table and the fire pole in the middle of the room. Surprisingly sitting on the table was a long cardboard tube. 

We all stopped and stared at it. Brian was giving Jennifer a hard look, but Jennifer looked just as shocked as we did. She walked over and picked it up, giving a little gasp before whirling it around and holding it out so we could see the name written on it.

Brian Kinney.

I know my eyes had to be popping out of my head and Brian was glaring at Jennifer.

"Honestly, Brian, I have no idea how this got here," she declared and I have to say that I believed her. 

Brian took it and went to take off the lid.

"Don't," I screamed. "You don't know what's in there."

Brian rolled his eyes at me and opened the tube anyways, what looked like blue prints slid out into his hand. He rolled it out and actually gasped, "What the fuck?"

I had to see what was on those sheets and as soon as did I felt like gasping as well, it was a beautiful rendered floor plan of the room we were in. It was a master suite to die for! Brian flipped through the other sheets, plans for the first and second floors. I could tell he was puzzled because he kept glancing at Jennifer. 

"They're renovation plans," I said, stating the obvious. "Who did them?"

The only clue was MM written in one corner at the bottom.

Justin's mother shrugged, offering an, "It's a mystery."

 

QAF  
(making a firehouse home)

Two weeks later the sale of firehouse closed and Brian was once again a home owner. I was enjoying a nice peaceful sleep when I was awakened by the ringing of my phone. I fumbled around before picking up the receiver and roll over onto my back, as I did, I notice I'm not alone. "What?"

"Where's Brian?" It's Ted.

"How the fuck should I know?" I look at the clock and see that it's ten. Damn I've overslept. The body beside me turns and hubba hubba, boy is he a hunk. Distracted as I am I still ask Ted, "Isn't he at work?"

"He called in that he was going to be out all week. I just got worried." 

I smile at my bedside companion and reluctantly get out of bed to check on Brian. Don't get me wrong, having Brian staying with me isn't as stressful as I'd thought it would be. True, I don't have overnight guests as often I used to, but I'm getting accustom to that. 

Brian isn't in the living room, so I check everywhere, and there aren't that many places to look, but no Brian. I hurried back to the phone and informed Teddy. 

It wasn't until after I'd said goodbye to the hunk that I started to worry, which didn't make any sense since Brian is a grown man and perfectly capable of taking care of himself. But I couldn't help it and decided to check some of his old haunts, just in case. First I went to the diner, then the gym and finally to Woody's, but no one had seen him. 

I just happened to wander by the fire station and noticed a light in the windows. I debated with myself and decided why not? So I barged right in and there was Brian, working at cleaning up the mess that was his new home. Now I'm sure Brian can afford to hire someone to do that, but I had the idea that he wanted to spend the money on furnishings. 

"Hey, Honeycutt, you just going to stand there or are you going to give me a hand?" 

Brian continued dumping trash into a garbage bin and hadn't even looked my way. I pulled myself up to my full height. "I've just had a manicure and prefer not to sully my nails."

Brian finally looked at me and I swear his eyes were twinkling. "Fair enough. Could you get me some coffee? And not that swill from the diner either."

That seemed only fair, so with a wave I was off. I just happened to stop at the gym and a couple of other places before going to a gourmet coffee shop. I come back with like ten guys and they all start pitching in and helping with the clean up. I know Brian's not going to thank me, that's not his style. You can imagine my surprise when Brian, tongue in cheek, kissed me. I'll take that for a thank you any time.

I, of course, did what I do best. Before anyone knew it, I had a hodgepodge of food and drinks for the masses. Someone brought a boom box; people were laughing, dancing, and working. A couple of them had expertise in plumbing and wiring. Everything was going fine, then Ted showed up. And he didn't show up alone.

Ted looked apologetic. "Sorry, Michael heard everyone was here and called his mom."

Deb had her hair pulled back in a scarf and yellow rubber gloves on her hands. "I'm here. Where do you want me to start?" She was snapping her gum. 

I immediately took her upstairs and got her started on cleaning the stove. Most of the stuff up there was junk, but the stove was industrial, not to mention gas and had six burners, and with a little love it would be the star of this kitchen. Naturally, Michael was in everyone's way and no help at all. Soon, however, Deb started bossing everyone around and twenty minutes later our helpers were gone. Thankfully most of the garbage was gone as well. 

The next few weeks were hectic and I didn't see Brian much. I understand that the guys that had helped left cards with their numbers saying that if he needed more help to let them know. That just as long as Deb wasn't there to boss them around, they would be happy to help. 

Brian did give me full reign on planning his kitchen and, if I do say so myself, it came out fabulously. 

Finally the day arrived and Brian's new home was complete. Brian was very proud of it and justifiably so. It was an open floor plan, yet nothing would remind you of the old loft. The kitchen was to die for. Hell, I would have loved to move into it.

It was Cynthia who came up with the idea of a housewarming party, and invite all their clients and friends. She said it would be great publicity for Kinnetik and Brian readily agreed. And who was to cater such a momentous moment? Nobody but Moi.

The food had to be classic and elegant, and the booze top of the line. 

It's the morning of the big event. Brian is all moved in and I open the door into the downstairs which cleaned up rather well. Brian now has his own parking area where fire trucks once stood. The space is huge. A quarter of it has been made over into an exercise room complete with a separate shower area. There is even the original brass pole that makes it convenient to get to from the master bedroom. So far I haven't had the pleasure of using it.

The other quarter is being used as a storeroom. It has the possibility of being a couple of guest rooms in the future. 

The stairway to the second and main floor of Brian's home has not changed. The rust has been scrapped off but that's about it. 

The main floor is essentially divided in two. The wall near the staircase consist of sliding doors which open into an entry where the spiral staircase centers. The rest of the room is a dream spot for Gus. 

The staircase leads up to the master section. I saw the plans but have yet to enter the inner sanctum. The rest of the main floor has a living, dining area much larger than the loft, and then there is piece de resistance, the kitchen. Industrial grade appliances and larger than the kitchen in the loft. I check the refrigerator which holds all the hors d'oeuvres. There are two bars, one in the living area, the other in the kitchen and they are all well stocked.

Brian, of course, was on cloud nine. Frankly so was I. It was time to parttay!

QAF  
(The Housewarming)

Brian stretched, waking up from his first night in his new home, then he got out of bed pulling on his lounge pants. He checked the security device that Cynthia had insisted he install, noticing that Emmett had entered the building. At that moment he was one of the few that were authorized for entry. 

He made his way down the stairs having left the sliding doors open making it one big space to find a cup of coffee, fixed the way he liked it and a plate with a large green apple waiting for him. He grabbed a small paring knife and began peeling the apple while Emmett was fluttering around, rearranging furniture.

Brian was just cutting into the apple when the doorbell rang, and he looked quizzically at Emmett, wondering if he was expecting help. Emmett's return look however, was just as puzzled. Brian shrugged his shoulders and picked up a remote control and turned on the TV. On the screen were Michael and some hunk that wasn't Ben. 

"What's Michael doing here? And who's the hunk?" Emmett asked.

"Don't know and don't care. You can find out. I'm going to work out." Brian suggested going up the stairs.

Emmett frowned. The exercise room was downstairs so why was Brian heading upstairs for the master suite. Emmett shook his head and flounced down the stairway. Michael's continual hitting of the doorbell was giving him a headache. He opened the door and found himself pushed aside as Michael and his friend barged in. 

"Where's Brian?" Michael asked. Then he shouted. "Briaaan!"

"Hello to you too, Michael," Emmett said as he shut the door and locked it. "Why are you here? The party's not until tonight."

"I know that. I figure Brian's going to be uptight about tonight and as his best friend I brought someone to help him relax. Derek, Emmett. Emmett, Derek. Is Brian upstairs?" Michael hurriedly explained before bounding up the stairs.

Emmett swiftly got in front of Michael before he got to the first landing. "Michael, you know no one gets to see the new place until tonight." He smiled over Michael's shoulder at Derek. Emmett herded the two men to the door, practically pushing them out. "So why don't you and your friend leave. I'll be sure to let Brian know you stopped by." 

As he closed the door he was certain he heard Derek say as he closed the door. "Don't go thinking I'm giving you back any money."

"You didn't do anything to earn it," Mikey whined.

"Not my fault."

Emmett had to chuckle at that. Since when did Brian Kinney have to pay for it? He trotted back up stairs and started on making more canapés. Once he had several racks in the oven he picked up the remote control, mainly because he liked using the security system. He flicked through the channels until he located Brian in the workout room. Emmett shook his head. How had he gotten down there without Emmett seeing him? 

Emmett eventually made his way downstairs and into the exercise room. 

Brian was on the treadmill, earplugs in his ears. He pulled them out when he spotted him but didn't slow down. "What the fuck did Mikey want?"

"He bought you a guy."

Brian looked at him strangely. "You mean brought."

Emmett shook his head, his eyes dancing. "No. Bought, as in paid for."

Brian's eyes went wide, then he turned off the treadmill and burst out laughing. When you think about it, it was humorous, Brian Kinney having to pay to get laid; only Michael would think of such a ridiculous notion. Brian got some weights and moved to a bench, where he started working on his biceps.

While Brian had lost some weight during all this mess, but with the help of a gym bunny during the move of the home gym, who gave him some tips, he would soon be well on his way back to his original body definition.

"Honeycutt, was there anything else?" Brian asked bringing Emmett out of his lustful gaze.

"Just wanted to let you know I'm going home to change. I'll be back in time to set the food out. And don't call me Honeycutt."

"No need to leave. Check out Gus' room."

Emmett's eyebrows rose and he raced out the room and up the stairs. Sliding the dark wood doors to the side he entered Gus' domain for the first time. There hanging on a hook was an Armani suit in a color that Brian would never be caught dead in. Emmett was unaware that Armani was making suits in red or was it maroon?

Not only was there a suit, but a shirt, tie, underwear, socks and shoes. Brian had thought of everything. Emmett entered the attached bath, where he found a basket with his name on it. The basket held all the items he would need, deodorant, shaving cream, razor and more. It was these random acts of kindness that caused Emmett to see that Brian Kinney wasn't the selfish, narcissistic man that Michael had led him to believe all these years. 

He took a shower, then he returned into the bedroom and finished dressing. Emmett adjusted his tie and sighed. Here he was in a room that any teenager would love and he couldn't help but wonder if Gus would ever get to see his room. As far as he knew Gus hadn't been back to Pittsburgh in years.

He and Brian might not be 'best friends', more like ships that passed each other in the night, but Emmett was learning to respect him for his honesty and his no-nonsense attitude. If every once in awhile he got the man to smile, he considered it a win.

Emmett took one last look at his preparations before welcoming Ted and Cynthia who were hosting this little wingding. It was decided that Ted would stay downstairs, letting people in and Cynthia would be on the main level. 

Michael, Ben, Hunter and Deb arrived early, Michael kept asking where Brian was. Truthfully Emmett had no idea. He'd gone into Gus' room to check the security on the TV in there rather than using the one in the living area. It showed that no one was in the exercise room anymore. 

Thirty minutes after the party started Brian came down the stairs dressed in a classic dark grey Canali. It looked like it was made just for him, and probably was. Michael looked like he was about to rush to him, so Em took up a platter of hors d'oeuvres and blocked him while asking what Michael wanted to drink. 

Cynthia did the same for Deb who looked very nice in a black sparkling outfit. Emmett came over and offered her a glass of Champagne while complimenting her on her attire.

Debbie laughed her boisterous laugh. "Oh, this old thing? It's just something I had in my  
closet."

Carl almost choked on his drink. Once Deb was turned away, he confided to Emmett. "It came in the mail yesterday. If I didn't know better I'd think the master had a hand in it." He smiled and nodded his head toward Brian who was off being social with a few of his clients. 

Everyone seemed to be having a good time and Emmett kept an eagle eye on Michael. At first Michael appeared to be pouting, not a good look on him, and eventually he marched up to Emmett and asked why Brian was avoiding him.

"Honey, he's not ignoring you. He has people he has to talk to. Clients," Emmett lied. 

"When do we get the grand tour?" Deb asked snapping her gum.

Emmett brightened. "Allow me." He showed them the fairly nice sized living area with its walnut bookshelves, leaving out the fact that TV slid up from the base of the cabinets, then the dining area that could seat twelve easily and his pride and joy, the kitchen and the nicely done half bath. Every surface held canapés and or drinks of every type. Chairs were scattered around the room. 

"I know that there's more to this place than that. What's behind that wall?" Debbie insisted on knowing.

"Sorry, Deb, but that's not on the tour tonight." Brian slipped up behind them.

"We're family. We have a right to see," Deb argued.

Michael brightened considerably in agreement. Just before he could latch on to Brian, Cynthia showed up and pulled Brian away. That left Michael with a disgruntled look on his face. 

As much as Emmett wanted to hang around and make sure Deb and Michael had a good time, after all they didn't exactly fit in with this crowd, he couldn't because he was playing host and needed to make sure the food didn't run out. He was disconcerted to look over at them and see a malicious smile on Michael's face. 

He followed Michael's line of sight and saw Teddy coming up the stairs with what had to be the last of the invited guests, and right behind them was Justin. That was a surprise because, to the best of his knowledge, Justin had not been on the guest list. Not because he wasn't wanted there, but because no one had a current address for him, not even his mother.

Emmett had never been privy to what happened to Brian and Justin after Justin left for New York. He only knew this could not be good. It was only then that he noticed that the guest with Ted was Jennifer Taylor. Now things made sense, well except the look on Michael's face. 

Excusing himself, Emmett rushed over to greet Justin and his mother. 

"Jennifer, you look lovely. Justin, Sweetie, how nice to see you." Em didn't want to come right out and ask why Justin was here.

Jennifer smiled while Justin looked uncomfortable. 

"Thank you, Emmett. You look pretty spiffy yourself," Jennifer said as Emmett led the way to the food and drinks. 

Justin looked nervous. "I hope its okay, Michael insisted I come."

Emmett and Ted exchanged looks, then cast their gazes at Michael, who now had a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "Oh did he now?" Emmett murmured.

Nobody had any idea of what caused the parting of way of the two men, and Justin's name just gradually faded away. Brian never said anything, Michael, however, was quite vocal. Now looking back on it, Emmett had to wonder just how much of what Michael fed them was actually true.

Emmett's eyes swept the room looking for Brian, he had no idea what Brian's reaction would be. He figured the best he could do to help was to head Michael off.

QAF

Brian was having a great time. He was very proud of his new home and he knew he had Emmett to thank for it. There wasn't as much money in the budget for finishes as he would have liked, but he'd long since learned that spending money just to spend it wasn't the way to go. Emmett had been happy to do the research and find the best items at a reasonable price. Rather than saying thank you, which would have been simple, Brian bought him a suit he knew Emmett would love and on the rare occasion introduced him to men to spice up his love life.

Everyone he talked to so far had nothing but nice things to say about his new home and he, in turn, gave credit where credit was due. When he came across Jennifer, she was just as complementary, even to admitting that she'd had her doubts when he purchased the property. "You'll be happy to know that I've had your house appraised and you've doubled your investment."

Brian was indeed happy to hear that. As it was, everything was going good for him right now.

Jennifer was sipping her champagne when she spotted Michael over in a corner with Debbie and Ben. "Oh, I must go thank Michael."

Brian's mind went blank. "Why?" he asked.

"It's been years since I've seen Justin. If Michael hadn't insisted he come to see your new home there's no telling how long it would be before I saw him." She was off before he could ask anything more. 

He looked around the crowded room and spotted Justin on the far side with Emmett and Ted. Brian had never been one to communicate his feelings and when things had started to go wrong he'd pulled back on e-mailing Justin while he was in New York. When the few e-mails he sent were returned as undeliverable he'd taken the hint. Now Justin was here, and there was one thing for certain, his fashion sense still hadn't improved. He currently sported an ill fitting suit and looked like he needed a haircut.

The crowd parted automatically as Brian headed for Justin, while a mixture of emotions flowed through him, but he managed to keep everything off his face. He stopped in front of the only man he'd ever loved and waited. 

"Hey," Justin said while looking uneasy.

Brian returned the response. "Hey." 

"Michael invited Justin. Wasn't that nice of him?" Emmett said to Brian by way of greeting. 

Brian's eyebrows rose when he looked at Emmett, that seemed strange. Emmett nodded his agreement then disappeared into the crowd. If Michael knew how to get in touch with Justin, why had he never mentioned it? Brian wondered. Then he realized that he had never let anyone in on what he was feeling during that time. Brian thought about everything he could say to Justin and went with, "Have you had a chance to see the place?"

Justin looked a little less uneasy, so Brian led him to Emmett's pride and joy, the kitchen, stopping on the way to let Justin sample some of Em's culinary delights. They walked side by side around the room, stopping and talking to other guests. Out of the corner of his eye, Brian noticed that Emmett was doing his best to block Mikey from following.

They stop for a moment to talk to Deb. As usual she was rather loud and popped Brian on the back of his head. "Don't fuck it up," she demanded.

Justin looked at Brian and moved closer to ask as they walked away. "What did she mean by that?"

Brian shrugged. He explained how Debbie, Michael and Lindsay had all insisted that Justin was his responsibility from day one because he'd fucked Justin.

Justin turned red. "I was never your responsibility. I just wanted...more than you were willing to give." 

Brian would have to think about that, his memory was that he'd been willing to give Justin whatever he wanted.

Justin was finally relaxing a little and showing sincere interest in the work that had been done. They had just made it back to the staircase when Brian decided he wanted Justin to see what he'd done with the rest of his home. Something he hadn't wanted to do with Mikey.

It was easy keeping track of Michael. Emmett was always near him and that red suit made him standout across the room. He flicked the switch and the wall began to slide open while he ushered Justin through. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mikey pushing people aside trying to get to him as he slipped through the door and it began sliding shut behind him.

Justin had a strange look on his face as he studied the room and Brian had to ask, "What do you think?"

 

"It's not exactly you."

Brian had to admit this room did not fit his usual design sense. But it was what the plans had called for and Emmett had a terrible time finding the components to complete the design found on the plans. One corner of the room was multileveled with a single bed on a platform. A step down there was a desk area, and circular steps brought you back to the floor. Underneath was all the storage a boy would need. When it came to colors, Brian had debated something subtle, Em suggested red and blue. Cynthia thought red, white and blue was a bit much. That was when Ted threw in sunshine yellow. 

"It's for Gus." Brian rolled his eyes.

For the first time that night Justin smiled his sunshine smile. "I knew that. He's going to love this. He must be almost ten now. It's been so long since I've seen him."

Brian held back a sigh. It had been ages since he'd seen his son. He thought his sonny boy would like the room, but with boys you never knew. 

He had no desire to feel sorry for himself. This was no time for reflection on what could have been. He wanted to see what Justin thought about his master suite. Nobody had seen it yet, not even Emmett. The stairs to the third floor had been replaced with a circular stairway, with the brass pole running down the center. 

The room was considerably smaller than Gus's. It was pretty much all windows except for one wall. The flooring was rich wood; the ceiling was faulted and intricately molded with the same dark wood as the floor. Hanging from the ceiling was a king-sized swinging bed, covered with an oriental duvet in a rich red. 

"Wow!" was all that Justin could say. 

"Care to try it out?" Brian asked without thinking about how that question might be taken. He felt Justin stiffen. 

His life had changed drastically since he last saw Justin, so what he did next might seem uncharacteristic for him. He picked Justin up and tossed him onto the bed. Then again maybe not.

"What the fuck, Brian!" The bed began swinging and a startled Justin held on for dear life. Eventually he relaxed enough to lay back and enjoy the ride. "It's like floating on a cloud. I bet sex is incredible."

Brian rolled his lips in. He wasn't about to admit that his new bed had not seen any action yet, and it wasn't that he was opposed to having sex with Justin, but after all this time he knew that they couldn't just jump back into the sack. 

"How do you get out of this fucker?" Justin asked almost in panic. He managed to roll until he fell over the edge of the bed.

Brian managed to catch him, but he couldn't help but laugh. It felt good; he couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed.

"Don't laugh at me." Justin was angry and he managed to pull himself up by a cord hanging from the ceiling. All of a sudden water started pouring down from the ceiling. It was the first time that Justin noticed the tub in one corner of the room. "You have a tub in your bedroom?"

Brian shrugged. It was a strange placement to be sure, but the room wasn't very big to begin with and closing off more of the room would have made it that much smaller. All in all he was happy with the arrangement.

The room that fitted the toilet and sink was roomier because of it. These he showed Justin along with the wall of closets at the other end of the room. There was not a great deal in those closets and Brian was surprisingly content with that. 

Justin seemed impressed, which at this point was all Brian wanted. He headed toward the stairs when Brian pulled him over to the pole that ran from the ceiling and through a hole in the floor. 

Justin looked at the pole, and then at Brian. "You're kidding."

"This was a firehouse," Brian informed him, before grabbing the pole and sliding down. When he reached the bottom, he looked up and called. "Come on."

Justin reluctantly gripped the pole and slid through a tube down to the main floor. He let go of the pole and looked around. It was a well thought out workout space. One wall was mirrored from top to bottom. 

He pushed on several more panels which opened up to storage. One of the walls was fitted with a TV/stereo system. With a grin, Brian pushed on a panel and the mirror opened out revealing a shower, sink, and toilet. 

From there they made their way to the first floor entry. Under the stairway to the second floor was even more space, currently empty. They were standing at the foot of the stairway when a group of Brian's guests appeared making their way down. Among them was Justin's mother, Jennifer. She looked nervously back over her shoulder before saying, "Brian, the place looks fantastic. Justin do you need a ride?"

Several other of the guest were leaving echoing Jennifer's praise, thanking Brian for inviting them and seemed to be in a hurry to leave. Justin, ever the wasp, thanked Brian for showing him around and followed his mother out.

Brian frowned, and glanced at his watch which indicated that it was still early. Why were people leaving? He went up the stairs, stopping every once in awhile to accept congratulations on his new home. Once he reached the top he heard screeching at the doorway to his private area.

"Brian, you asshole, what the fuck do you think you're doing? You have a lot of nerve fucking Sunshine while you have guests," Deb's voice loudly proclaimed.

"Deb, could you please keep it down?" Emmett pleaded, his eyes worried as he saw people leaving in droves. Carl, too was trying to calm Deb down but she wasn't having any of it.

"Brian should be out here with his guest, not locked up getting his needs met."

"Yeah," her son agreed loudly while his husband tried to shut him up. He shrugged off Ben's concern and went back to banging on the door. "Brian, get your ass out here."

Brian walked up behind them and asked, " What's wrong?"

Debbie turned around and brought her hands to her chest. "My god, what are you doing sneaking up on a person and scaring them the fuck to death."

"Brian, where the fuck were you?" Mikey whined.

Cynthia and Ted came up to each side of Brian. "We're sorry, Brian. We tried to shut them up," Ted muttered. 

It wasn't easy to tell that Brian was disturbed that his party was ruined by his supposed 'best friend' and his mother. But Emmett knew that Brian had to be hurting. That was all it took for him to take charge and escort Michael and Deb, who complained loudly the whole time, down the stairs with Carl and Ben's help, leaving Ted and Cynthia to console Brian. 

What should have been a happy day for Brian was no longer. All the guests had made their escape leaving drinks and food in their wake. Brian's pride in his new home was forever spoilt.

 

QAF  
(Emmett's version of what happened)

I'm not sure what it was Michael expected Brian to do once he saw Justin, but what he did do was obviously not it. Brian was perfectly polite, he didn't get pissed or anything. He certainly didn't run up and hug the kid, which is what I did.

Catching Teddy's eye I could see that we were in agreement that nothing should spoil Brian's house warming party. While Ted latched onto Mikey, I ushered Deb and Carl over to the table loaded with cheese, fruit, and assorted finger foods.

I handed Carl a couple of plates while Deb sampled one of the many cheeses.

"Well, at least it doesn't taste like cum," Debbie pronounced loudly. Everyone around her gave her a strange look.

"Maw, do you have to be so crude?" Mikey whined.

"I'm just saying." Debbie shrugged.

Oh, lord. If this was the way the evening was going to go, we were in trouble. I can only hope that Ben and Carl will help rein them in.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I noticed Brian introducing Justin to various clients. He seemed totally at ease with having him there, and I admit I got a little complacent, but in my defense I was busy keeping hors d'oeuvres on the table. Ted, too, was busy making sure everyone had something to drink. 

Every time I checked up on Michael he seemed to be watching Brian like a hawk. Cynthia was doing her best to deflect his interest so I wasn't too worried. Therefore, I wasn't prepared when Michael literally started flinging people aside in an attempt to get to Brian!

I followed as quickly as I could, picking people up off the floor on my way and apologizing profusely to each one as I helped them back on their feet. Once I got closer I could see that Michael was banging on the wall shouting. "Brian, Brian, let me in."

"What the fuck are you yelling about, Michael?" Debbie asked loudly.

That's what I wanted to know too, but I would've whispered. 

"Maw, we're family, we should be allowed to go in there." Michael demanded. Michael spotted me, and grabbed me by my suit jacket. "How the fuck do I get in?" 

I looked around at all the people staring at us and laughed nervously hoping that everyone would think this was some kind of joke.

"How should I know?" I hissed, jerking his hands off my now rumbled jacket.

"Michael, why is it so important that you get in there?" Ben asked calmly.

"He's in there, probably fucking Justin." Michael informed him.

"What, he's fucking Sunshine!" Debbie shrieked, then she, too, started banging on the wall. "Asshole, you have guests out here. You don't have time to be fucking anyone."

Oh my God. People were whispering to each other and shaking their heads before heading for the stairs. Could things get any worse? Teddy and Cynthia were apologizing and trying to stop the exodus. 

Deb and Michael were both pounding on the wall and shouting loud enough to wake the dead, and I just wanted to cry. Carl and Ben were trying to shut them up without any success. 

I don't know how long this went on. Long enough that most of the guest were gone and Brian was standing behind us. How did he do that? 

"What's wrong?" Brian asked.

Debbie turned around and clutched her chest. "What's wrong, you asshole. You've got a houseful of guest and you run off to fuck."

Now I happen to know, though I'm not supposed to, that Brian's currently on medication that pretty much makes it impossible to get it up. Not that I'd tell Deb that.

She pointed one of her red painted nails at him. "Look at them, they're all leaving."

Then she was poking Brian in the chest. "And it's all your fault!"

I gasped and I know I wasn't alone in doing so. I saw the hurt flash across Brian's face and then I saw red. I grabbed both Debbie and Michael and pulled them to the stairway and down. When I got back from taking out the trash, Brian was no longer around, not that I could blame him.

I looked around the room taking in all the half empty glasses and the trays of finger foods I worked so hard to make. What am I going to do with all the leftovers? Maybe the Vic Grassi house would like them.

QAF

Brian stayed in hiding and I didn't see hide nor hair of him for two days, but really, who could blame him? Personally I couldn't understand how Debbie and Michael could act that way and then try to blame Brian for it! When I did see him, we talked and I said I'd like to send Debbie a copy of the security tape and maybe she'd get a clue. That at least got a laugh out of him.

The security system that was set up was top of the line and recorded when motion detectors were set off. Now that might seem like an invasion of privacy, but you have to remember that a lot of people helped rebuild the place and Ms. Cynthia thought someone might try to pull a fast one. And a couple of people did, but we had the goods on them. 

We watched the proceedings the next day and it was not pretty, there were four cameras running from each corner of the room, and you'd have to know where to look to see them. It was turning out to be a good investment considering the neighborhood.

Well, ever since the night of Brian's longed for open house, Brian started acting different, he was more driven.

It was obvious that he was depressed and who could blame him? Looking back, it all started with Justin's unexpected appearance. Nobody that I could find had known how to get in touch with Justin. Well, maybe his mother did, but I never dared ask.

As if that wasn't bad enough, shocking news struck. Brian's condition had worsened and he was going to be forced to go under the knife, again! They said they could get it all, but that was what they said last time too. 

He, of course, didn't want to tell anyone, again a repeat of last time, but since Cynthia had his POA she convinced his doctor that I should be kept in the loop and unlike Justin, I found out before the fact. You might be wondering how I know about when Justin found out about Brian's cancer. One night, shortly after it all came out; Michael had gotten terribly drunk and spilled the beans. I hadn't realized back then, that as a friend, a supposed best friend, that he wasn't much help which was probably why Brian wasn't telling him now. Somehow he managed to make Brian having cancer all about poor Michael. 

It was decided that telling Michael or Debbie was out of the question. For some reason that I'll never be able to understand, Debbie was maintaining that the reason the party ended was Brian's fault, and she was doing that loud and long. Anyone who'd been there could tell you different, though. I wanted to tell her off so badly, but Ted just shook his head stopping me. I heard from Teddy that guests had been calling Kinnetic and apologizing for leaving, explaining that they'd been too embarrassed for Brian to stay.

Then I got serious and suggested he needed to talk with Justin. I don't know what went on between them at the party, but I was hoping that it was the start of something new. Hopefully mistakes of the past were not about to repeat themselves.

QAF  
(Brian takes Emmett's advice)

Brian checked one last time with the cab driver that it was indeed the address he had requested before exiting the cab. It had taken a lot to get this address. First he'd gone to Justin's last known address and found that the person he'd shared the apartment with no longer lived there. 

The problem was the only people who might know where Justin was living were his mother, Debbie, or Daphne. He didn't want to ask Jennifer, because then he would have to explain why he wanted to know. After the housewarming Brian kept his contact with Debbie and Michael to the bare minimum for obvious reasons. That left Daphne and he had no idea where she could be. 

Emmett knew what he was up to. Hell, it had been his suggestion, so Brian called Emmett to bitch. Emmett, in turn had surprised him by knowing how to get in touch with Daphne, causing Brian to slap his hand to his head in a 'duh, why didn't I think of that' fashion. Unfortunately, while Daphne did manage to get in touch with her friend who'd married and moved, the friend had no idea where Justin had gone.

Brian had felt like screaming. He'd thrown his phone against a wall instead.

It was just dumb luck that while Theodore was in New York to attend the symphony he passed a gallery that had a familiar painting in the window. It turned out that the artist was indeed Justin Taylor. He immediately bought the painting and managed to finagle Justin's address out of the gallery owner saying he wanted to commission a painting. 

So now he was huffing and puffing up three flights of stairs. He squenched his nose because the place smelled almost as bad as the one in Pittsburgh that Justin had moved into a long time ago. Taking a deep breath he knocked on the door. 

The door flew open suddenly and Justin started saying, "Look I told you..." before he realized who was there. "Look, I'm sorry, I know you told me to never contact you and that I should have stayed away, but Michael insisted." 

This was said at the same time as Brian said, "The cancer's back."

"What? When did I say that?" Brian asked at the same time Justin said, "What do you mean the cancer's back?"

Talking over one another wasn't working. Brian head was throbbing , "Can I come in?" he pleaded.

Justin reluctantly let him in and Brian could immediately see why. The place was small even by New York standards and cluttered with boxes. On top of one of the boxes Brian's sharp eyes spotted an eviction notice right before Justin made a grab for it and crumpled it up. 

"What the fuck is this about me asking you to stay away?" Brian asked. "I never..." He pulled out his cell phone and went through his e-mails shoving it into Justin's face. "This is the last thing I got from you saying you didn't want to have anything more to do with me. That things were going really good for you."

Justin grabbed the phone and squinted. Eventually he pulled out a pair of glasses and one handedly put them on. His eyes widened as he read the e-mail and he shook his head in disbelieve. "Brian, I never sent this." There were tears in his eyes. "I no sooner got settled when the apartment was broken into and all my stuff was stolen. Daphne's friend said she'd been living there for years and never once been broken into. She told me I had to find someplace else to live."

Brian was horrified. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I did. I was upset and all I got was the answering machine. The next day Michael called telling me that you didn't want to hear from me ever again. That you were tired of giving and giving."

Brian shook his head vehemently. "Justin, I never got that message. I would have been on the next plane out if I had. And I certainly never said anything like that." He tried to remember those first few weeks surrounding Justin's leaving for New York. Michael had stopped by a lot, constantly cajoling him into reopening Babylon. Mikey wouldn't would he?

"Forget that," Justin demanded. "What do you mean the cancer's back? Are you going to lose your remaining ball?"

"No." Brian shook his head.

"Not your prostate," Justin breathed. That was even worse than losing a ball in Justin's opinion.

"No," Brian repeated, his face turning red. "Breast cancer," he whispered in embarrassment.

Justin's mouth opened and he sat on one of the boxes causing it to sink in. 

Brian looked down, shocked. This was not the same man who he had let leave him for New York. Brian Kinney had many regrets for how he'd treated this man over the years. But one thing he still believed with his whole heart was what he'd told Justin all those years ago, that he was too old. That Justin needed to grow up and become his own man. Even when Justin left him to go live with Ian he felt that it was what Justin needed. This was more like the boy whom he'd been shortly after the bashing, not the man who left for LA. Brian knew very well that Justin could have done well in LA, that it wasn't his fault that the movie went belly up.

Justin on the other hand was stunned. Breast cancer was the last thing he would have considered on finding out Brian was once again sick with cancer. What did it mean? Why was Brian telling him this?

Brian had hurt him time after time. That's what he'd had to tell himself over and over to get through the past few years. He'd gone to Hollywood with no real plan for what he would do if the movie didn't pan out. He'd come to New York with no real plan other than relying on what Lindsay and the magazine article had told him. Shit, Brian was sick.

Justin was shaking. Brian knelt in front of him, noticing his eyes were not focused. It didn't look like he was on anything; it looked like he was having a panic attack. "Justin, where is your medication?" 

"No money. Not for meds, not for food, not for rent," he muttered.

"Justin, you have the house in West Virginia," Brian informed him.

Justin shook his head vehemently. "Your house."

"How soon they forget. Listen to me. Are you listening? Remember. I bought it for my prince. You can move in there."

"Without you? Noooo!"

Brian settled back on his heels. Justin's current behavior was unusual for the Justin he knew. He remembered the bright, cocky boy he lived with and wondered why he had fought so hard not to admit he cared. There was so much he could tell him, but now was not the time, mainly because someone was banging on the door. Brian reluctantly got up and opened the door. 

"Look, kid. I'm sorry but..." An overweight man wearing an undershirt and old pair of slacks stood in the doorway. It took him a moment to notice that the man he was talking to was not his tenant. "Where's Taylor?" His sharp eyes quickly spotted Justin sitting in a box and rocking back and forth. "Is he okay? Should I call an ambulance?"

Truthfully Brian thought it might be a good idea, but seeing Justin hospitalized in New York was not in the cards. Furthermore, this was not the independent Justin he'd fallen in love with. Then it occurred to him that maybe this was how Justin felt about the changes he had seen in him right before he left for New York. 

Brian's phone rang and he moved aside to answer it. "Theodore, this had better be important."

Then he was surprised when in the snap of the eye Justin was next to him apologizing to his landlord saying he was alright and asking for more time. Brian cocked and eyebrow thinking the change in Justin was rather dramatic.

"Son, I can't do it. You're already three months behind," the man said and amazingly enough he sounded sincere. 

Theodore, who was still on the line, heard it all. "Three months behind on what?"

"Rent," Brian informed him.

Ted who had the advantage of knowing where Brian was and why, an unusual occurrence in itself, turned to his computer and pulled up the address on a realty page. While the apartment in question was one of the cheaper ones, the total amount Justin owed for three months rent was not cheap. "Holy shit."

"If you can't pay, I'll be forced to call in the cops," the landlord said.

"Police?" Justin gasped as he seemed to shrink in on himself and the next thing Brian knew he was flying out the room.

"Shit," Brian shouted and dropped the phone to run after him.

Justin was half way down the staircase, hugging the railing. He slipped and fell down to the landing with a scream. 

Brian had seen Justin panic before, but nothing like the full grown panic he was in now. He made the trip down the stairs fast and gathered Justin into his arms. 

"I don't understand? What's wrong with me?" Justin wailed as he clung to Brian.

All Brian knew was that life was too short and he vowed to protect Justin anyway he could.

 

QAF  
(Emmett does what Emmett does best)

Now I don't know exactly what happened in New York, but I finally got the details on the end results. Brian arrived home with Justin in tow, and I have to say I was shocked. The mess that was Justin was nothing like the Justin that had shown up for the housewarming party. 

If it weren't for Teddy, I wouldn't know what to think. Evidently things were not good in New York for our young friend. He owed money on his rent and it seemed the owner of the building threatened to call the police if he didn't pay. What an unbelievably nasty man! Teddy did some shuffling and somehow managed to find the money for the back rent owed and arranged with the manager to have everything Justin owned shipped back to Pittsburgh.

Brian insisted that his doctor look Justin over, and the good news was that with a little healthy eating he would be okay. The bad news was he was slowly losing his eyesight thanks to that bat in the head. Brian was adamant that no one was to be told that Justin was back, not even his mother. 

Also in the bad news department was the fact that running down a couple of flights of stairs was not good for Brian and he had to leave to have his surgery sooner than expected.

I elected to accompany Brian to the hospital since there was no way Justin could. They gave him a shot and as we waited for it to take effect, Brian began to mumble about Gus. At first I thought he was talking to me until I heard him mention Vic's name.

"Vic, I never would have given up my rights to Gus if I'd known they'd keep him from me. Do you think Gus will ever forgive me?"

I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't given much thought about Gus and his sister . As far as I knew they were living safely with the girls in Toronto, and what I heard next broke my heart.

"Vic, he hates me. The girls refuse to let me see him. All the gifts I've sent were returned unopened. They went up in flames, in flames..."

It was then that the nurses came and carted Brian off to the operating room. I vowed then and there to do whatever I could to correct that injustice. I contacted Teddy and brought him up-to-date. Then I quizzed him about what he knew, I knew that I would need all the ammunition I could get to go up against the girls. Ted was reluctant to tell me anything, so I pulled out the big guns and lied, sort of. I told him it was sort of a death bed wish before going under the knife and he bought it. He explained to me what he knew about the relationship, the money Brian had sent and unfortunately had to pull back on sending them. Now to me, the amount Bri was currently giving them was more than adequate.

As it turned out making plans turned out to be a great diversion. I checked my watch and noticed that the operation was running a little later than I was led to believe. My cell phone went off and I answered it expecting it to be Teddy.

"Emmett?"

To my great disappointment, it wasn't. "Michael."

"Nobody's seen Brian lately. Where the fuck is he?"

I rolled my eyes. "How the hell am I supposed to know? He's a grown man." Then I waited for it.

"I'm his best friend. Best friends look out for each other."

Yeah, right. Just then the loudspeaker sounded.

"Dr. Rains, please report to ..."

I did my best to muffle the sound. 

"What the hell? Are you at the hospital?"

I thought fast. "If you must know I'm at the clinic. They've just called my name, gotta go." I said bitchedly before hitting the hang up button. That was close, the last thing Brian needed was for Michael to show up. I'd gotten off the phone just in time to see the doctor has come into the waiting room and boy did he look tired. 

"We got it all."

Brian's doctor came highly recommended by his doctor in Pittsburgh. I couldn't help but smile. Brian had been putting off the decision to go under the knife until Ted, Cynthia and I forced him to. Ted looked into all the money aspect and Cynthia made the arrangements. Brian hadn't had much choice. She handed him an envelope containing his airline ticket and reservation for our hotel. Me? I came along for moral support. 

"That's good isn't it?" I ask. Something about the look on the doctor's face made me think otherwise.

Doc sighed. "The incision was a little longer then we led Mr. Kinney to believe."

What's with the Mr. Kinney shit? I'd cultivated this doctor expecting nothing but the best from him. "How much longer?" I asked warily. Something told me I was not going to like his answer.

"Sixteen inches."

My mouth dropped open. Holy shit. Brian was going to have a cow.

"We're sending him to ICU. You can get some rest; he's going to be out of it for quite a while. He'll probably be transferred to a private room this evening and if things go well he should be on his way home in a day or two after that."

That soon? Fortunately I had packed a lot of magazines to read as I sat next to him. I had a lot of time to think on our strange relationship. I'm not sure when we became close, hell, I'm not sure we are close. Teddy and I are close. I'd always assumed Brian and Mikey were as well, Mikey claimed it often enough. But lately, Michael's actions haven't been what I'd call 'best friend' related. Why am I here with Brian? Because even Brian doesn't deserve to be alone at a time like this.

In between pursuing my magazines I glanced at Brian. His mouth was open and every once in a while a snore escaped. It was really the only way I could tell he was still breathing. I've debated telling Brian my plans and finally decided, why the hell not, I'll take him with me. In the end I was unable to do that.

I left for a little while, assured by a nurse that Brian would still be out, to take Ted into my confidence. He was not too sure, because the girls hadn't been friendly toward Brian in quite awhile, but Cynthia, who has been fielding all of Mikey's calls, thought it was a great idea. All I had to do was to wait for her confirmation e-mail.

I got back to the ICU, proud of what I had accomplished, to find Brian wide awake. He looked at me, his gaze angry.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Huh. Did he just ask me that? How to answer him?

"Well, it was either me or Michael."

"Oh." Brian actually smiled at me then his eyes closed and he was back asleep. 

I must have looked shocked because the nurse who was tending the patient in the next bed said, "He probably won't remember what he said when he wakes up."

I certainly hoped so. 

QAF

Two days later Brian was set to leave the hospital. Personally I thought it was a little early, but what do I know. It hadn't taken Brian long to notice the scar running down his side. Rather than the expected bitchiness I thought he'd go into, he rolled his lips under and suggested drolly about getting a zipper tattoo. He looked at me sideways and all I could do was shake my head and grin.

I was feeling more like Brian's valet. I packed his clothes, making sure they were clean. He was more tired than he let on so I didn't want to leave him alone. Teddy had warned me that the last time Brian has spent a lot of time in the bathroom upchucking. Something I was not looking forward to.

The plan had been to get Brian to Canada. Cynthia has been spearheading the renovation of a room downstairs for Justin according to Brian's wishes. They might have to share as I have decided that climbing stairs would not be in Brian's best interest after having a heart to heart with Brian's doctor. Will they listen to me? Something tells me they will. 

To be honest I was not sure where Justin fitted in. Gone was the bubbly, sure of himself, young man that I knew. I knew that Brian cared for him still. But I couldn't help but wonder if Justin cared back. Or was he just grateful? 

A little birdie told me that Justin has property in Pittsburgh. Which has me wondering, if he had that why he was in such dire straits in New York? It appears that Justin has decided to sell his property and use the money for the renovation. I haven't seen the plans yet but Cynthia assures me that it's going to be great. 

However, I didn't have time to think about any of that. My mind kept taking me to Toronto. Explaining why wasn't easy. It all went back to the fact that I'd heard Brian talking to Vic. I mean Vic is dead. It's not so much he was talking with a dead man, and Brian was on medication at the time, lord knows what drugs will do to you. It's the subject matter that's been preying on my mind. 

I talked to Teddy and he gave me all the intel on what Brian has and has not done for the girls. He told me a lot about items he'd gotten for Gus that were returned unopened. I think he was wanting to unload about things he kept quiet about to Brian's 'so called friends'. In other words, I learned a lot that I had not known. And that he isn't the asshole that Debbie and Michael have been painting him as.

It was time for me to go to Toronto and see just what was going on. At the last moment we decided that Brian shouldn't go. Which worked out great since he caught an infection and ended up having to stay in the hospital an additional week. He was so bitchy that he ordered me to go home, or better yet to go on a vacation. In case you are wondering, thanks to tips Ted has given me over the past couple of years, I'm financially set . Plus I have fabulous employees who make sure that my business is going strong. 

So armed with their address I catch a plane to Toronto. Except for the Liberty Ride, I never got a chance to really see the country and I was really looking forward to it.

The plane landed about midday and I caught a cab. The ride took me through downtown Toronto and I ogle the buildings as we went by. The cab driver was talking a mile a minute, but in French. I told him I was sorry but I didn't understand and he switched to English. I learned that Downtown Toronto is best seen at night. He was very expressive using lots of hand gestures which made me fear for my safety. 

We ended up heading for an older section of Toronto and the cab driver pulled up to an old run-down apartment building. I asked if he was certain and he was back to jabbering in French. Iwas tempted to ask him to wait, but he took off the moment I was out the door.

I straightened my jacket, picked up my suitcase and ambled over to the door. There were mail boxes with tenants names listed and I quickly found Marcus/Peterson 6C. I looked around for an elevator and found none. Shit, I might as well be back in Hazlehurst. 

I finally made it to the sixth floor, and I was thinking I'm out of shape. After a moments rest I started checking the door numbers. I knocked on the door and it opened to a Lindsay I'd never seen before. Her blonde hair was limb and she was wearing a robe that she pulled closed at the neck. 

"Emmett? What brings you here?"

I could hear shouting in the background and a kid who had to be Gus pushed his way past Lindsay and out the door, a skateboard in his hand.

"I didn't say you could leave. Get your ass back here, you have to watch your sister," Melanie screamed at him. Gus, at least I assume it was Gus, just ignored her giving her the finger and hoping on the railing sliding down. 

Melanie snarled, "Tell whoever is at the door that the check is in the mail."

"Mel, dear," Lindsay smiled a fake smile and said through gritted teeth, her head jerking in my direction.

"Well, if it isn't Emmett Honeycutt. Michael told us you'd lined yourself up with the asshole."

Frankly I was shocked, just totally shocked. "I, ah, was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by." was my weak excuse. It was soon obvious to me that I wasn't going to be invited inside, and any chance of being asked to stay went out the window when Mel slammed the door shut. I could hear her yelling. "You need to get control of your son, the little bastard."

I looked at the stairs, not looking forward to carting my suitcase down five flights. Then I thought about what Gus had done and decided what the heck. One leg went over the rail and I was flying backwards down the stairway. I never had so much fun, there were no posts on each floor, it was a straight shot all the way down.

I ended up flying off the end and landing on my ass. Someone behind me was laughing. There stands this kid lighting a cigarette and laughing at me. I'd always thought Gus would grow up looking like a little Brian mini me. But the kid before me looked nothing like him. His hair was almost blond, his eyes brown, and he seemed to be clothed in a grunge like fashion.

"So you're my old man's friend," he sneered. "The asshole."

I stood up tall and towered over the little pipsqueak. I supposed I shouldn't be surprised as I clearly remembered calling him that myself. Looking back I wonder if my opinion of him was fostered by what Mikey and Deb had always said behind his back and sometimes to Brian's face.

He pushed through the front door and mounted his skate board. I followed and shout at him. "Why do you say that?"

To my surprise he stopped, dismounted and did something that had his board flying into his arms. He walked back to me and got into my face. "Why? He doesn't care. He doesn't call. He's never sent me anything. Whenever Uncle Mike comes over he's always bitching about him."

I'm stunned. I took out my cell and flitted through the documents I had saved on it, then hold it out to the little shit.

"What's that," he asked.

"That's a copy of everything your dad has contributed to your mom's since your birth." It was actually a copy of the spread sheet that Ted had meticulously compiled that shows all monies laid out over the years. The insurance policy, the many checks he's given Lindsay over the years. The cost of gifts for Gus. Admittedly when Kinnetik started going downhill, the amounts were reduced, but it was still a tidy sum. 

He reluctantly took the phone from me and scrolled through the list. "What's this?"

I looked over his shoulder. He was pointing to a line that says Gus-gift. I took back the phone and tapped the screen, giving me a list of all the entries before handing it back. There were seven years of gifts listed. Birthdays, Christmas and others.

"I never got anything from him."

Again I took back the phone and pulled up another document. "This is the inventory from when his loft burned down." I pointed to an item that says gifts for Gus. That was the only time other then when he listed his clothing that I saw Brian show any emotion. "Ted explained to me latter that every present he'd sent had been returned unopened." I informed Gus. "He does care."

Gus shook his head. It appeared that he was having a hard time believing me. "Uncle Mike is always saying that he never wanted to be a father. That he was too busy fucking around to be my father. That my memories of my dad were not true."

I saw red. Michael had struck once again. Before I could start on a blistering tirade, I heard someone come up behind me. I saw Lindsay, her hair in a messy ponytail, wearing what looked like a waitress outfit and dragging a little girl.

"Gus, you need to watch your sister. I'm late for work as it is." She pulled her purse firmly over her shoulder and walked away. 

I looked at the little one standing before me. She's got to be almost eight and fortunately for her she favored Mel, thank goodness. Her hair was a mass of brown curls that didn't look as if they've seen a brush today. Her brown eyes were indignant.

"I don't need anyone to watch me." She stamped her foot. Then in the next moment she whined. "I'm hungry."

"Didn't they feed you?" I asked.

"Nah, and they don't have anything in the house to eat till payday," Gus answered.

I was shocked. Things shouldn't have been this bad. I knew for a fact that Brian's checks had been cashed. With both Melanie and Lindsay working they should, at the very least, be able to buy food. "Where is the nearest diner?"

"There's one a block over, but mom doesn't want us to go there. That's where she works."

"There's a store on the corner." I followed JR's stiff arm which was pointed in the other direction.

Having nothing better to do and figuring it would be good to learn more about these two children I followed as JR skipped along, while Gus rode his skateboard. The corner store, if you will, had minimal food and run mostly to alcohol, cigarettes and magazines that would have been wrapped in brown paper back in Hazlehurst.

Gus grabbed a small container of milk, cereal, bread and a package of baloney. JR was eyeing the candy section. I wished they had some fruit or vegetables here. I couldn't help but notice that the cashier was keeping an eagle's eye on the kids. I slipped a few candy bars into the basket and went to pay. An idea forming in my brain. I really needed to talk to Teddy. 

Little JR was bouncing off the walls and trying to get at the candy. Gus was trying all he could to control her. I was carrying the bag of groceries, the better to keep JR's paws out of the bag, while Gus dragged my suitcase along. 

Gus was smarter than I thought. There was a door in the stairway at the bottom and he stored my suitcase in there. Not having to lug it up all those stairs was a great relief. He led the way up those stair, god I thought I was in better shape than this, and pulled out a chain with a key attached. My god, Gus was a latch key child. 

Gus opened the door and we filed in. It felt like I was invading their privacy. "Um, when do your moms get home?"

"Mel gets home after we're asleep. Linds works until 11:00 sometimes 12," Gus told me as he tried to put the food away and kept it out of JR grubby hands. 

I'm looking around the room, which is dimly lit. I've seen the amount that Brian sends and with both the girls working I would have thought that they could afford better than this. What the hell are they using their money for?

I really needed to talk to Teddy.

QAF  
(Michael's duplicity)

"No." Justin was adamant.

"Justin, it's not like I'm asking you to go to the diner."

"I don't want to!"

"Why?"

Justin crossed his arms as he sank into the sofa in the room he shared with Brian, looking so much like Mikey that Brian had to roll his eyes. Luckily for him, without his glasses, Justin couldn't see him.

Justin was in a funk and Brian could not blame him, art was his life and losing his eyesight was incredibly distressing. 

But Brian was at his wit's end. 

 

Oddly enough, Justin felt he deserved to be blind. While he'd been in New York he had lots of time to think and look back over the five years he'd gone through to get to this point. He'd come to the realization that he'd been selfish and virtually blind to his own behavior. 

He'd courted disaster after disaster without thinking of the consequences. He'd given Hobbs a hand job, and then confronted him on Liberty Ave. He'd had sex with his best friend and almost lost her friendship. He'd believed the lies Ethan told him. Hell, if he hadn't listened to people he thought were his friends he wouldn't have even been with Ethan. 

He'd listened to Michael and ended up in Hollywood, for all the good it did him. Then he'd listened to Lindsay and ended up in New York City. He remembered a time when he knew who he was and what he wanted. Where had that person gone?

When Justin first got back to Pittsburgh, he was immediately taken to a hospital, and when the doctors were unable to find a reason for his sight problems, he was devastated. That was disheartening. Furthermore, the fact that his sight seemed to come and go was puzzling.

To add to Justin's disheartened feelings, as soon as they got to the firehouse, Brian had to leave for his operation. Cynthia had the renovation on the downstairs started, but was worried about the cost. Ted came to the rescue reminding Justin that he still owned the mansion in West Virginia, Justin didn't even have to think about it, he placed the house in Ted's capable hands, instructing him to see what he could get for it and use the money for Brian's new home.

When Brian got out of the hospital the rooms downstairs were pretty much done and looked great. After Brian returned, he and Justin started sharing the main floor because the stairs would be too much for Brian. Justin was okay with both of them occupying the bottom part of the firehouse, however, when Brian decided he wanted to go out to eat, Justin wasn't ready to take that step. 

He heard a buzzing and began to shake. He could hear Brian pick up the remote and turn on the monitor. He looked up and saw a blur of something that looked like a big bag, and a head covered with a cap.

"What cha' want?" Brian asked gruffly.

"Take out," the person behind the bag answered. Justin rubbed his fingers over his forehead, trying to decipher why the voice sounded familiar but at the same time, something about it seemed off.

Brian grunted and went to answer the door. 

Justin sat huddled on the small sofa. He had no idea what was wrong with him. 

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Squinting his eyes Justin tried to see the person standing there holding a bag. "Daph?"

She slammed the bag down on the coffee table and threw herself at him. "Justin, what happened? Why didn't you call me?"

Justin held on to her for dear life. He couldn't call her, not when he'd made such a mess of his life. 

Daphne wrapped him in her arms. "Oh, Justin. It couldn't have been that bad. It wasn't as if you had sex with Michael."

Daphne thought she was joking, but Justin stiffened and then started to hyperventilate. Backing away she called out. "Brian?"

In an instant Brian was there gathering Justin in his arms. "What happened?"

Daphne's eyes were wide as she stood there staring at her best friend. "I don't know. I was joking about him and Michael having sex and..." 

"That would explain the loss of his eyesight," Emmett said.

Everyone turned and stared at him, surprised to find him there.

"Oh, please. I was his roommate for like two years. You don't think I never saw that thing he calls a dick?" All the while Emmett was raising the coffee table to dining height and pulling out the food from the bag that Daphne had brought.

"Jus? Did you have sex with Michael?" Daphne asked unable to keep the shock out of her voice.

"I don't know, I don't know." Justin was shivering. "Something happened, something bad."

"Where?" asked Daphne.

"Joe's Pub." Justin blubbered.

Daphne pulled away from Justin and pulled out her phone. Emmett moved up behind her, and looked over her shoulder.

"Em, what are you doing here and where have you been?" Brian asked keeping a tight rein on Justin.

"I thought I'd check up on the two of you and make sure you were eating properly. Do you have Bluetooth?" Emmett asked Daphne as he waved Brian's concerns away. Once she nodded, Em snatched the cell phone away from her and plugged it into the TV screen hanging on the wall. The screen showing You Tube instantly popped up on the screen along with a large listing of videos from Joe's Pub. Emmett picked up the remote control and added Justin Taylor, fine tuning the description, and surprisingly there were several clips. 

Everyone looked at Justin, who was turning a bright red. After he and Daphne sat down, Em used the remote to start the first clip. It contained 50+ videos. There was Justin playing with a computer that sounded like a xylophone and the crowd was loving it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPAvEy8nN6U&list=RDPPAvEy8nN6U#t=3

"Whoa, baby." Emmett spoke first. "You have hidden talents!" 

Justin, of course, hid his face. He couldn't really see the screen, his vision being fuzzy, but he recognized the clip.

"Where is all this shit coming from?" Brian asked. Justin was doing standup while sitting down and none of the material sounded familiar.

Daphne on the other hand was laughing her head off. "This is so funny. I remember when Randy told us that story."

"Who's Randy?" Emmett asked.

Before Justin could open his mouth, Daphne jumped in. "He's this guy we went to school with, he transferred from New Hampshire and Atlanta. He had the craziest stories."

Brian raised one brow and looked at Justin, not that Justin could tell. 

Just then something on the screen caught Brian's attention. He straightened up and told Emmett. "Run that back a bit."

Emmett, who still had the remote, did as requested.

"Stop!"

The picture froze on a close up of Justin. Justin was talking and a hand reached over and set a bottle of water on the table in front of him. Emmett glanced at Brian and got a nod to continue. As the video came to life, Justin reached for the bottle and tossed a thank you over his shoulder. The video panned backwards enough that you could see the body of the person who had placed the water bottle on the table moving away. Em gasped and hit pause once again as the man turned and a creepy smile clearly showed on the man's face. 

"Michael?" Emmett exclaimed in a stunned tone.

"Where, where?" Justin straightened up and looked around, though everything was a blur to him.

"He's not here, Sunshine," Brian whispered in his ear and pulled him back into his arms.

They watched the screen as Justin continued his dialogue fiddling with the tablet in front of him and continued to watch as his movements gradually slowed down. A big bear of a man came on the stage and picked Justin up and slung him over his shoulder. Several of the backup guys started toward him, and while you couldn't hear what Mikey said, whatever it was, stopped those who would have taken action. 

"Shit. If I didn't know better I'd say Sunshine here had been drugged." Emmett said, getting angrier by the minute. The action reminded him of what had happened to Brian.

"Oh please. I can't picture Michael doing something like that," said Daphne.

"Sweetie, it is something that he's done before." Emmett was livid. He was now more than sure that Michael had slipped something into Brian's drink. He patted her hand, then looked at Brian, not sure how much he should give away. Though when he thought about it, nothing had ever been proven against Michael.

Brian was concerned. Justin was allergic to a lot of stuff. Was it possible that something in the drug he'd been given was responsible for his loss of eyesight? It would mean having Justin rechecked by his doctor. But first they would need to know what Michael has used. No sense asking Michael, he'd only lie. Brian could not think of any reason that Mikey could give that would explain why he'd done what Brian knew he had to have done.

One glance at Emmett showed that he too had followed Brian's line of reasoning and was furious. Emmett however had his own agenda. He pushed himself up and said, "Well, I don't know about you but I could use something to drink. He walked over to the wall that held the TV and moved it forward three feet.

Daphne sat there her mouth open. She got up and followed Emmett who had retreated behind the wall. "What?" She asked, astonished to find a full galley kitchen.

"You didn't think I planned to go up and down those stairs to bring food?" Emmett was digging in cabinets and coming out with glasses and a bottle of Beam. Going in the refrigerator he filled a couple of the glasses with ice and set everything on trays. "This is a complete self-sustaining apartment.

Daphne looked around and frowned. "Where's the bed?"

Laughing, Brian pulled Justin from his comfortable seat on the sofa then flipped a switch. The ceiling over the sofa lowered and voila, you have a bed. It appeared to be floating just above the L shaped sofa.

Brian swept Justin up and tossed him on the bed and then piled in after him, and Justin started to giggle.

Emmett's first thought was to stop them; after all, Brian was still recovering. But Justin sounded so happy and that was something that he'd not heard since Justin had returned from New York City. 

Getting a grip on Daphne, he let out a sigh and pulled her from the room. 

"Damn, I wouldn't mind having a place like that," Daphne complained. "Thanks for calling me. I feel guilty about not checking up on him sooner."

"How could you, when we hadn't let anyone know he was here?" Brian asked glaring at Emmett. He turned to Daphne. "Justin's out like a light, hopefully resting. Would you mind staying with him while I go out?"

"Where do you plan on going?" Emmett demanded.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I thought I'd have a little talk with Michael."

"You don't honestly think he'll actually tell you the truth?"

"No, but I like to know where the fuck his mind is."

"Well you are not doing it alone. I'm coming with."

Daphne's head was bouncing from one person to the other like she was watching a ping pong game.

Brian merely nodded. "Daphne, would you mind staying with Justin?"

She shook her head to clear it. "Sure. No problem. What do I tell him?"

Brian thought hard on that as he walked to the door. "The truth. Oh, and don't let anybody in."

"Okay." Daphne was confused. She really didn't know what the truth was. Before she could ask more Brian and Emmett were out the door.

QAF

Brian pulled up in front of the diner. He sat there and stared at the door, thinking about all the times the gang had gone for breakfast and when they stopped in after Babylon. Emmett had gotten out and walked around to the driver's side.

Brian looked at Emmett through the window, knowing he had come along to support him and opened the door. He made sure his attire was in pristine shape after exiting the car and nodded to Emmett before walking to and pushing the door to the diner open.

Pausing in the open doorway he looked around taking in the interior.

Michael sat alone at one of the booths, moping, but when he spotted Brian his face lit up and he practically jumped up to catch Brian's attention. He scooted over expecting Brian to sit with him, but Brian sat across from him with Emmett by his side.

"I knew you couldn't stay away." Michael announced, practically bouncing in his seat.

"When did you last see Justin?" Brian began without preamble.

Michael looked puzzled, then his expression turned to indignation. "When he showed up at your housewarming and ruined it."

Brian and Em exchanged glances, knowing that was far from the truth. They knew Justin had learned of the housewarming from Michael.

"Michael, Michael," Brian shook his head. "Before then." 

Michael once again looked puzzled, as if he had no idea why they would ask.

Emmett took the time to interject. "We know you invited him."

"And you believe the little shit over me, your best friend?" Michael put on his puppy dog eyes that dared Brian to refute what he'd said.

Brian decided to ignore that. "How did you know where to find him, when none of us did?"

You could almost see the wheels turning in Michael's head, then he finally seemed to come to a decision. Letting out a sigh, Michael opened his mouth. "I kept up with him for Rage. When I saw him last he was at this bar having a fine old time. When he left with this leather bear, I knew it was over." He turned sad eyes to his best friend. "I didn't want to tell you because I knew how hurt you would be."

If one didn't know better you would have thought he was telling the truth.

Brian was ready to push him. To tell him about the video on you tube when Ted rushed in.

"Brian, you've got to come quick."

Brian's first thought was 'Justin' and one look at Ted confirmed it. He got up and was out of the booth in a nanosecond. 

Michael started yelling, "What the fuck. Where do you think you're going? I haven't seen you in ages."

Emmett slid out with the objective of following Brian when he spotted Deb slapping a full tray of food down on a table and rushing to intercept Brian, so he quickly put himself in her path.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Em? I want to find out why he's hurting my kid," Deb shouted trying to push past Emmett.

"Deb, Brian hasn't done anything to Michael."

"The fuck he hasn't. He hasn't talked with my baby in I don't know how long. He owes it to my son. Michael's been his best friend since he was fourteen."

The bell over the door rang and Emmett glanced over his shoulder to see Ben walk in.

"What's going on?" Ben asked.

Michael crossed his arms and pouted. "Ted came in and Brian rushed out after him. Why would he do that? After all I'm his ...."

"Best friend." Emmett and Ben said in unison. "We know." It was something they'd heard time and time again. Ben shook his head and smiled. If it appeared sad neither Deb nor Michael noticed. "Some things never change."

Slipping into the bench seat next to his husband, Ben placed a chaste kiss on the side of his head. 

Heading out the door, Emmett looked back through the glass. Ben was looking adoringly down on Michael who gazed tenderly back. Emmett was torn; he wanted to talk to Ben to see if he had any knowledge of Michael's duplicity. But he also wanted to know what the emergency was that had Ted so bothered.

It had been awhile but Brian's firehouse was in walking distance. He no sooner entered when he heard what sounded like World War III. Ted and Daphne were huddled in a corner. 

"What the fuck is going on?" Emmett asked.

"I went looking for you at your place and when I couldn't find you I came here," Teddy informed Em. "I wanted to bring you up-to-date on what's happening in Toronto."

"Justin's sight failed completely and he went bonkers," Daphne threw in.

Ted pulled Emmett aside and updated him on where things stood in Toronto.

"Fuck." Emmett went into the room where Justin was destroying everything he could get his hands on. "Stop this right this minute. We have more important things to worry about."

Justin froze, so did Brian, who had a grip on Justin trying to ground him. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Emmett placed his hands on his hips and sighed. "While you were recuperating in the hospital, I thought I'd take a little trip to Toronto."

"Gus?" Brian whispered hopefully. 

"It's not good," Emmett reluctantly said. He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. Teddy had his back.

"Bri, it's not good. Toronto's version of CPS checked up on the girls and took the kids into protective custody. Remember when you signed over your rights to Gus?" Brian nodded. "Well it seems that Melanie never filed it with the courts. You can pick up Gus anytime you want."

"What about Jenny Rebecca?" Brian asked.

"She's Michael's problem. I gave them his information," Ted assured him.

Justin was sitting there quietly. There was a lot going on in his head and Brian could tell. Brian waved a hand. "Leave us."

"Yes, your Majesty," Emmett snickered, then bowed before ushering a protesting Ted and Daphne out.

As everyone filed out, things quieted down. Justin sat staring at nothing. "I can't see." He sounded defeated.

Brian nodded, then realized he'd have to voice his thoughts. "I know."

"You don't understand," Justin exploded. "I'm blind."

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose. Justin was rotating between feeling sorry for himself and anger. As much as he thought he understood, there wasn't anything he could do about it. "Look. I'm going to need your help with Gus."

"Fuck you. Didn't you just hear me? I am blind." Justin fully expected Brian to storm out of the room, leaving him alone. He wasn't expecting Brian to gently cup his face and tenderly kiss him.

"I need you." Then Brian stood up and took Justin by the hand. "We need to get Gus."

It only took him long enough to get Justin to the front door to realize that it wasn't going to work. Emmett stopped them and hit Brian with logic. "Brian, you can't take Justin with you. Don't you realize that Justin, without his sight will bump into things and people? He's not ready to face that. Plus I hate to say this, but when I went up there Gus was," Emmett paused. "Well, let's say what he's been told about you over the years doesn't match with who you really are. You're going to have to go slow."

"Fuck." Brian was not stupid by any means; and he knew that Emmett was right. 

"Sweetie, we'll take good care of Justin and really, we are only a phone call away," Emmett insisted. "In the meantime Teddy is the one who should accompany you."

Brian was torn, but he knew he had to get Gus. A honking horn let him know that Ted was waiting outside. He wrapped Justin in his arms and whispered, "Trust Emmett. I do." Only when he felt Justin nod did he let go and walk through the door.

Emmett was a premier planner, but he couldn't have gotten everything together without help. Having called Cynthia to get the paper work together, it was only a matter of deciding whether or not Brian should fly. Ted cast a vote for driving since they would need to bring back whatever Gus needed for an extended stay. 

That being out of the way, Emmett looked at Justin. The poor boy looked lost staring into space. Gently he led Justin back to his temporary quarters. It was Emmett's hope that Brian would let him have it once he was ready to move back upstairs. He firmly believed that once Brian was ready to use the stairs that Justin would be joining him.

Using the button that raised the bed upward, he settled Daphne and Justin down and began to bring them up-to-date on the life of Brian. While they knew some of the details, they were unaware of others.  
He felt he needed to tell them these things so they'd understand why the video was so important.

"You're saying that Michael drugged Brian?" Daphne asked.

"I don't have any proof. But what we just saw in that video seems to confirm it," Emmett admitted. "The thing is they found a strange substance in Brian's blood work afterwards so I'm fairly certain that Brian thinks...hopes... it might be something you're allergic to."

Justin was stunned. Could the cure be that simple?

QAF  
(Off to Toronto to pick up Gus)

Brian didn't say anything when Ted missed the turn to the airport. When the car stopped for a light, Ted reached back and pulled a folder from where he had laid it on the back seat and passed it to Brian.

The drive to Toronto had taken five hours and Brian had used all of those hours to read through the papers in that folder. There hadn't been much time, but Ted had managed to put together, with Cynthia's help, quite a bit of information.

Nothing was said as Ted heard pages being turned, although some pages were turned more roughly than others with a few 'fucks' and 'shits' thrown in. Once that stopped, Ted cleared his throat. "What I don't understand is where all the money you sent went. "

A glance at Brian showed a stunned expression on his face. It was true that the money he sent for Gus had been reduced out of necessity, but it should have still been enough for a nice house, clothing and food on the table. Especially with the girls both working. 

Silence settled as the car continued toward Toronto. There were a few stops for coffee and something for Ted to eat. Brian was feeling guilty and had no appetite. Guilt over having acceding to the girls request about staying out of their lives and how Gus would react to that. He was equally guilty about having to leave Justin. 

On their last stop before coming into Canada, Brian's cell phone played 'Let's Hear it for the Boy.'

He answered and his ear was assaulted by loud music and a giggling Justin. Brian looked at his phone. "What the fuck! What's going on? Is Emmett there?"

"Emmmett!" Justin's voice screamed in his ear. "Hey, Em. Catch."

"Umph. Hello?"

"Em, what the fuck is going on? Have you been in my stash?"

Brian heard a door shutting and the volume of noise went way down.

"No, we haven't been in your stash! Do you by chance know if Justin is bipolar?"

Brian pulled his phone way and looked at it. "No. Why would you ask something like that?"

"Well, first off, he was sad, then he got angry, now he's ... I'm not sure ... demonic?"

"What the fuck."

"Oh, some of his vision has returned. What's up with that, by the way? Anyway, now he and Daphne are planning a new issue of Rage where Zepher is, let's just say I didn't know there were that many ways to torture a person."

"Mikey's gonna' love that."

"I don't think they're planning on telling him and judging by some of the ideas they were throwing around I don't think they'll need him at all."

"Brian, we're here." Ted interrupted.

"Look, we've arrived. I'll talk to you later," Brian said as he got out of the car.

"Good luck."

Ted pulled his brief case out of the back seat before walking around and placing a comforting hand on Brian's shoulder.

Then shoulder to shoulder they headed into the building. Once they got in the door it took them an hour and talking with five people before they got to even see Gus much to Brian's aggravation.

Brian was happy to see Gus, but disappointed that he didn't run to him shouting, "Daddy." In fact Gus looked downright pissed and J.R. looked scared.

Ted took over the negotiations since he had all the paper work. He was also fluent in French, so to make it easier on the social worker they were using that language.

"Merci," Ted finished standing up to shake the social worker's hand. He turned to Brian. "Okay you're all set. Let's get Gus' belongings and go."

Brian stretched to get the kinks out. He looked at Gus who hadn't moved and J.R. who was holding on to Gus for dear life.

"What about J.R.?" Brian asked.

The man shrugged. "We have tried to get in touch with Mr. Novotny but have had no luck."

Brian sighed and pulled out his phone. One thing he was certain of was that Michael would not refuse a call from him.

"Bri, I knew you'd call." That voice came confidently over the speaker.

Brian didn't answer, he simply handed his phone over to the Social Worker.

"Monsieur, we have been trying to get a hold of you." He explained in detail with the help of Ted what was going on.

"But, I can't afford to come get my little Sugarplum," Mikey whined.

Brian wanted to call out bullshit. Mikey and Ben could have gotten in a car and driven the same as he and Ted had. Surely they could afford gas? He and Ted exchanged glances and nodded, both on the same page.

That was why two hours later they set out with both children in the back seat and their meager belongings in the trunk.

QAF

 

Brian's head was hurting from listening to Ted. He had been able to understand Ted while he communicated with the social worker, but had not felt the need to join in. Gus sat in the back seat and scowled, while Jenny Rebecca bounced up and down. 

They had just made their way through the outskirts of Toronto when Ted pulled up to a gas station, and signaled for Brian to get out. "Look, Bri. It's been a long day. Why don't we find a hotel and have a great meal?"

Brian glanced into the back seat of the car and had to agree. He gave Ted a nod before going into the convenience store. He'd no sooner settled back into the car when J.R. started up.

"I gotta' go pee."

Brian pulled out some snacks and passed them to the kids to tide them over until they got to their rooms.

"Don't worry, Sweetie," Ted called out as he buckled up. "We're going to find a hotel and you'll be able to go then."

Ted turned into the parking lot of the first hotel they came to and wanted to wait in the car with the kids while Brian registered, but unfortunately J.R. had other ideas, she had to go potty and she had to go NOW! While Brian registered them, Ted began to usher the kids to the bathrooms and told them he would wait for them to come out, but little J.R. refused to go into the ladies room without Gus. By the time Brian showed up with the room cards, he wondered what was going on.

J.R. was dancing and holding herself while whining with Gus. Brian knelt down and asked, "Can you hold on until we get to the rooms?"

She shook her head vehemently no and Brian sighed. He looked at his son, who scowled, crossed his arms just like Michael and said, "No way."

Brian couldn't resist rolling his lips in to keep from smiling at his son's attitude so like his own. He did the only thing he could think of and knocked on the ladies room door. When there was no answer he pushed it open and gestured for J.R. to enter. "Tell you what. I'll stay right here until you're done." Keeping the door open he stood in the doorway and watched while J.R. rushed to one of the stalls. Ted stood near and did his best not to smirk. There was a time when Brian would have said hell no rather then watch out for a little girl, much less one using the bathroom. Gus, who was under no constraint, did smirk. 

"Haven't you got something better to do?" Brian asked as his cell phone rang. He called out as he brought the phone to his ear. "J.R. Are you doing okay?" The only answer he received was a grunt from one of the stalls.

Ted nodded and pulled out his cell, planning to call Emmett to update him on what the plans were. 

Unfortunately Brian should have checked caller id before answering. He winched as he heard the squeaking voice of Michael ranting about all the neat things they were going to do once the kids arrived. J.R. finally came out and Brian held the phone to his chest to say, "Don't forget to wash your hands."

Little Jenny Rebecca headed for the sinks, but found it difficult to reach the faucet. Shaking his head, Brian flipped his phone shut and not only turned the faucet on for her, but picked her up so her hands reached under the water. 

Ted stood in the doorway and watched rather than hitting the button's on his phone. This was a side of Brian that he hadn't seen before.

Brian herded everyone to the elevator, his cell phone ringing again. This time he checked the caller id and noting that it was Michael he rejected the call, turned off his phone and entered the elevator. Brian had decided that they would have two rooms with two double beds and a connecting door. Once they got inside, Brian found the room service menu and handed it to Gus. Gus stared at him his mouth open.

"Order whatever you want," Brian said and received the first smile he'd seen from Gus. Gus grabbed J.R. and they both pored over the extensive menu.

"Was that wise?" Ted asked. 

Brian looked over at the kids, who were all excited. He couldn't say it was but he didn't have the heart to say no. Therefore he was very surprised when Gus requested the cheapest things on the menu. He sent the kids into Ted's room to watch the TV there and proceeded to order half the menu. 

Each child took a bath, one in the room that was assigned to Ted, the other in the room that was going to be used by Brian and the kids. When the food arrived J.R. started jumping up and down, clapping her hands in delight, which had Ted wondering if Emmett, instead of Michael, was really her father.

After all the food was sorted out, J.R. hoarding the chicken nuggets and fries, a burger with fries for Gus, steak for Ted and a salad for Brian, who noticed that Gus was picking at his food unlike his sister who was stuffing her face. 

Gus set his burger down and looked at his dad. "Why did you never come see us?"

Brian debated how to explain things and finally decided on telling the truth. "You know that Mel and I never got along?"

"Yeah, ma hates you with a passion. Why is that?" Gus asked.

"She thinks your mother cares more for me than for her. That I'm trying to take her away."

"That's crazy. You like guys."

"That's true. She also didn't like that I was your dad. You got sick once, and the hospital wouldn't let her go into the exam room with you. So I did something stupid, I gave up my rights to you." 

Gus looked at his sister who was falling asleep in her food. 

"Your moms had split up and I thought I was doing the right thing to get them back together," Brian said sadly as he gathered her up and tucked her into one of the beds. Then he did something he never thought he'd have to do. He explained himself to his son, and he didn't lie about anything, including how he became the asshole everyone claimed him to be and why. Admitting his reasons for his life being the way it was. "So you see I wasn't supposed to care about you." He looked at Gus and noticed his head was on the table and he was fast asleep. He looked at his watch, seeing how late it was, and managed to get Gus into the bed next to his sister.

Ted had long since disappeared into the other room and shut the door. The only luggage they had were what came with the kids and their clothing was skimpy at best. He stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers then slid into bed and reached for his phone.

"Teddy! Where the hell are you?"

QAF  
(Emmett's POV)

I was leaning against the firehouse door and I was pissed.

"I meant to call you earlier, but things kept coming up." Ted explained.

"I'd expect something like that from Brian." I snarked and locked the door, setting the alarm. Today had been a long day. "So what happened that you couldn't call? Couldn't text?"

Teddy just laughed at me and explained that after a great deal of time that they'd left Toronto bringing back not only Gus, but Jenny Rebecca too. Of course, I already knew that. What I didn't know was that they'd stopped at a hotel since it was getting late, which was just as well all things considered.

Earlier when they'd called, Justin's eyesight had returned, which was a relief. I made an appointment with the doctor that had been seeing Justin. Justin finally got a good look at the video and to say he went ballistic was an understatement. About that time Michael had called all excited because Brian was bringing his little girl home. He had all sorts of plans for turning Hunter's room into J.R.'s. I asked where Hunter was going to be sleeping if Jenny got his room and Michael brushed it off. 

He also began bitching about not being able to get in touch with Justin about working on another issue of Rage. He was rather nasty about it and going on about how Brian was well out of it. I had to bite my tongue not to lash out at him.

Unfortunately Daphne and Justin came down the stairs where they'd been getting Gus' room ready about that time and I had a devil of the time keeping Daphne away from my phone. When she couldn't tear into Michael, she and Justin began planning to redo Rage. I had no idea just how devious those two could be.

We spent a lot of time making sure Gus had everything a kid would need. Of course now, that might change. Why? Well it was later and the doorbell was ringing. Stupidly I didn't check the monitor thinking that it was Brian and Ted with the kids. Boy was I wrong!

Michael barely waited for the door to open then pushed against it knocking me over. He didn't even help me get back up! He was griping because Ben had refused to turn Hunter out, so naturally Michael decided that Gus and J.R. would stay together and that he and Brian would co-parent. He was trying to get upstairs to see the room that he and Brian would be sharing while they did that. 

Fuck that I thought as I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him to the door, tossing him like the garbage that he is. 

Now might be a good time to call Ben and enlist his help, I thought. 

QAF  
(back to 3rd party pov)

Jenny Rebecca woke up early and started going through the room looking for food. The noise level was such that she woke Brian up. He opened one eye and checked the other bed. Gus was sprawled across the bed sound asleep. Brian looked at the clock. Four o'clock. He looked around the room. "Jenny?"

Jenny's head popped up on the other side of Gus' bed.

"J.R., it's four o'clock in the morning."

"I'm hungry," J.R. whined.

Brian couldn't help wonder at J.R.'s appetite. He'd learn from talking with Gus that food had not been plentiful at chez munchers. It was too early to call in for breakfast, but Brian imagined that there were some vending machines nearby. He slipped on his pants and his shirt then went to find something for a little girl to eat. 

Fortunately cleaning crews were already at work and thanks to them he was able to locate a vending machine nearby. When he got back J.R. was back in bed fast asleep! Kids!

In the end they all slept a little late and were awakened when Ted knocked on the door and ushered them into his room where breakfast had been delivered. Ted had ordered stacks of pancakes, muffins, milk, juice and coffee, not to mention an egg white omelet for Brian.

As they all sat down, Ted brought them up to date on what he'd found out from Emmett, and Brian groaned when he learned of Michael's plans. 

"I don't wanna' go live with him," J.R. muttered. "Please can't I stay with you and Gus?" she asked Brian with tears in her eyes.

Brian and Ted exchanged looks.

"Why?" asked Brian.

J.R. refused to look at them and played with her food. Which was unusual since she scarfed down anything set before her. If she kept up like that she was going to turn into a butterball.

"Because every time he visits, the moms have no money for food," Gus snarled.

That was strange. Brian glanced at Ted and was pretty sure that he thought so too.

"Not to change the subject, but Em thinks we should stay away for a few days while he figures something out, it would be nice if we didn't have to go back right away," Ted suggested. "But we're a little short in the clothing department. I'll give Cynthia a call and see what we can work out." 

And that is how two hours later, the group of four ended up in a nearby mall. The first shop they got to was perfect for finding things for the kids. Clothing was a top priority and when Gus and J.R. found that the hotel had a pool, swim suits were on the list. Loaded down with clothes they picked up a few small things to entertain the kids. Books of all types, crayons, and a hand held gameboy for Gus. Then it was time to eat. J.R. was beside herself with the choices. 

Afraid that J.R. was going to make herself sick, Brian started to say something but noticed the angry look on Gus' face directed at him. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't say anything to J.R.

When it came time for the men to do their shopping it was decided that they would split up, Brian going with Gus and Ted with Jenny Rebecca. Gus was very outspoken. There was to be no suits, which were costly, but the jeans and tops were not the cheapest either. He turned out to be quite good at finding bargains. 

Ted, on the other hand, had his hands full. Jenny Rebecca was all about color and Ted, being the conservative man that he was, was having a hard time. Each time she held up something for his inspection, she got a negative shake of the head after he looked at the price tag, but it wasn't long before the disappointed look on her face had him rethinking his decisions. Channeling his inner Emmett, he let her pick out two colorful shirts and three ties.

While shopping was something Brian usually enjoyed, he found himself developing a headache. When they finally met up, Brian was more than ready to go back to the hotel and they headed to the escalator, which connected to their hotel, loaded with packages. It was their misfortune to meet with a gang of teenagers who decided going down the up escalator would be fun. Laughing they jostled into J.R. who fell against Brian, who toppled down the steps. When Ted and Gus managed to get back down the escalator, Brian was flat on his back with J.R. safely on top of him. 

Gus gathered Jenny while Ted tried to help Brian up, he managed to get Brian into a sitting position when suddenly Brian screamed and passed out. Ted stood there in shock while looking down at the still form of his boss and friend. Jenny was crying and Gus was holding her trying to get her to calm down. A crowd quickly gathered around and amongst them was one of the security guys. 

"What happened?" he wanted to know.

Ted opened his mouth but one of the crowd elected to tell what happened, saving him the trouble. An ambulance was called and Brian was carted away while Ted debated what to do with the kids.

 

QAF  
(Emmett's POV)

I am not sure why I thought going to the diner was a good idea. My mouth was stilling hanging open from Deb's statement.

"Emmett, isn't it wonderful that Brian and Michael are going to live together and raise my little Jenny Rebecca and Gus?"

What the fuck? "Um, Deb? Where did you get the idea that Brian and Michael were going to be living together? What about Ben?"

"Michael's so excited." Deb exclaimed, seeming way too excited for my comfort and completely ignoring my questions. "My grandbaby is coming home."

I felt like knocking my head on the table, and right then Ben and Hunter came in. 

"Hello, Deb," Ben said much too cheerfully before coming to sit down across from me. 

He patted me on the hand and asked how I was doing. I couldn't help blink. "Have you seen Michael lately?"

Ben shook his head and laughed. "Not since I told him he couldn't throw Hunter out to give his room to J.R."

"Well you needn't worry, Michael's moving in with Brian and they'll be raising the kids together," Deb told him, taking great delight in the dumfounded look on his face.

"What!" Ben was looking at me as if it was my fault.

Debbie slid into the booth with me, pushing me over. She was acting all motherly telling Ben she was sorry it hadn't worked out, but it was best for the children. Fuck her. I pushed her out and informed her. "If you're not going to take my order, I'm leaving."

I'd just gotten on the sidewalk, when someone grabbed me from behind, I wasn't surprised to see it was Ben.

"What do you know about all of this?"

I looked down at the hand holding me back and reminded myself that Ben had no idea what Michael was like. "It's all cornswallup, Ben. Brian never told Michael he could move in."

Ben let go and stepped back. "Then why is he saying that?"

Now I was never so happy as when Ben let me go, he's normally a mellow fellow, but he has been known to get violent and I certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of it. "Why don't we go someplace quiet and talk about this?"

We started walking and Brian's firehouse was just around the corner, that's where we headed. To my aggravation though, as soon as we turn the corner, there sat Mikey on the bottom step of the firehouse. The last thing I needed right now was to deal with him, and spotted a cab idling next to the curb a few feet away, I hurriedly pushed Ben and Hunter inside before jumping in myself. I yelled at the driver to 'go, go, go' as I looked out the back window to see Michael trying to chase the cab down and I shook my head, does he honestly think he can catch us?

I figured we're not going to have a lot of time, so I gave the driver my address and ushered both of them into my apartment as soon as we arrive. Unfortunately, there was not much in the way of food since I've been spending a lot of time at the firehouse. 

"I'm sure you remember the open house," I started. Hunter looked puzzled and I don't remember him being there. So I pulled out my copy of the security DVD and played it while preparing something for the masses.

"Wow!" Hunter seemed in shock. "Did this really happen?"

I figure if I start at the beginning and explain things to Hunter, Ben might get a clue. "It all started..."

 

I'd just gotten to the part where Brian brought Justin back home when my phone went off, which was just as well since Ben looked like he was about to explode. None is so blind as he who will not see.

"Hello."

"Teddy, I'm in the middle of something."

"What! Oh my God."

"What are you going to do?"

"Okay. Okay."

I hung up. Fuck. As if I didn't have enough on my plate. Ben and Hunter were looking at me. Well, here goes.

"That was Ted. He and Brian are still in Canada with the kids. It was late by the time they picked up the children so they stopped at a hotel. They evidently went shopping, it seems the kids were low on clothes, plus Ted and Brian hadn't thought to pack anything. My bad. Anyway it seems there was an accident."

Ben looked alarmed and I couldn't blame him.

"The kids are fine. I'm not sure exactly what happened, Ted wasn't clear I only know that it involved an escalator and Brian falling. His leg is broken, so it will be a few more days before they can come back." Another complication. I was hoping to be able to move Brian and Justin upstairs near to Gus. "You've seen the security on what happened at the open house so you know that the last people he wants in his home are Michael and Deb." 

I waited while that sunk in. "What you don't know is that I believe the night we all ended up at Babylon, Michael drugged Brian. He more or less admitted it, you know. What you don't know is we think he did the same thing to Justin."

"No." Ben shook his head. "There is no way."

So I pulled out my cell phone and pulled up my playlist letting the video speak for me.

Ben's face went stern. "When?"

"About a year ago."

"He said he was in Toronto. To see J.R."

QAF  
(Final Chapter-Two Years Later)

Hi, Sweeties, it's me, Emmett. It's been two years since my fated talk with Ben and Hunter, and so much has happened in twenty four months that I don't even know where to start... Well yes I do, let's start with what happened after our little chit-chat. 

Bad Guys

Ben, it turned out had been hanging around his hubby for far longer than he should have, in my humble opinion. So much so, that I honestly think he must have absorbed more than a few of Michael's brain cells in the time they were together. Can you believe that after I told Ben what I suspected Michael of doing, that he drugged Brian and Justin, he actually thought that Michael drugging people was okay because nobody was hurt? I wanted to imitate Deb and slap the big doof up-side the head! HARD! I told him that Justin did get hurt, that he was going blind and might be allergic to whatever it was that Michael slipped him. That if we knew what it was we might be able to reverse the effect. I even used the 'what if you couldn't write' defense.

Ben of course, and in my opinion, stupidly. decided to talk to Michael first. Michael, from what I've been told, used the same 'I'm Brian's best friend' defense that we've all gotten so used to hearing that I want to wash my ears out with bleach every time I hear it. I swear that man is like a broken record when it comes to Brian and his 'best friend' war cry. Anyway, the bit about being in New York when he said he was in Toronto? It turns out he did go to Toronto, after making a certain pit stop in New York.

Hunter on the other hand wasn't stupid and he followed Michael home and caught him in the act of retrieving the pills from under the mattress, and being the smart kid he is, called the cops. Unfortunately, Michael claimed that he was moving them for Ben, if you can believe that. Ben denied it, but by that point Deb had come to Michael's defense and brought up Ben's jail record. 

Talk about making everyone mad, that sure did it! By that time Ted, Brian and the kids had returned, so I had no time, money, or energy to help Ben out of the dilemma that Michael was putting him through. On the bright side Michael didn't have time to devote to worming his way into the firehouse.

Just when it looked like Michael was going to get away with everything, Ted managed to save the day. He'd been checking out why the girls seemed short of money and thanks to J.R. found out that Michael had been blackmailing them. Gossip had it, and there was plenty of it, that Ben had put a halt to Michael's spending Ben's hard earned money on collectables and Michael saw easy money when he somehow found out that Mel had never filed the papers giving her and Lindz sole custody of Gus. 

None of this, however, held up in a court of law, especially when the girls couldn't be found to corroborate any of it. Then when going to her basement, Deb found Michael's hoard that he had stashed there and she opened her eyes. Since she had been footing the bills for the lawyer, she was mad as hell and she decided that the bank of Debora Jane Novotny was closed, permanently

So I decided to sit her down and pointed out the many times she'd wronged Brian and having wised up she begged forgiveness and unfortunately for her was turned away by Jenny Rebecca.

Deb had come to the firehouse all meek like, and against my better judgment I let her in. She spotted Jenny who was playing with rearranging the forest and was all over her like flies on a dead pig and completely ignored Gus. Strike one. Then when Brian and Justin came down from their afternoon nap, she apologized while still excusing Michael. Strike two. Jenny was madder than a wet hen, so Deb never got to strike three. When she started in on how Brian couldn't take care of himself much less a little girl, how much Jenny needed her to teach her all the things a woman needs to know, she blew it. Jenny stood right up to her and said she had her Auntie Em for that, then she turned and gave one word to Gus and Deb was out the door and told in no uncertain terms to never come back. I'd never been so shocked and proud in my life.

Now Gus is not stupid by any means. He had contacted a lawyer at the Gay and Lesbian center and had him sue Michael for nonpayment of child support for J.R. Even if Michael didn't feel he'd done anything wrong and refused to part with any of his toys, an audit was ordered and the pile of toys which had cost thousands, were found to be worth hundreds of thousands. Jenny may be young but she's set up with enough to get her into any college she wants. Unfortunately, she takes after her dad. No college for her. She might have a future in set designs, from the look of it. Teddy had hoped she would show an interest in forensic accounting because she likes a good mystery, but numbers and Jenny don't mix.

Now let's see, where was I? Oh yes. So even with Michael throwing Ben under the bus, nothing could be found in his blood. The cops having seen the video and the results of Brian's blood work, decided to let Ben go. They were not idiots and even if they didn't have any proof against Michael, they knew he was the real culprit. After that Ben eventually decided he needed to get away, so along with Hunter, he took up an offer to go to Tibet. Sounds perfect, doesn't it. He decided to write a book about his experience, which he titled 'Place Card' or 'Book Mark', or something like that; it didn't do very well though. Then his publicist convinced him to rename the book 'Betrayal' and make it a work of fiction rather than non-fiction, and then ta-da, sales went through the roof. Michael tried to claim some of the money since his sources of money have dried up, the girls have disappearance but Ben donated it to help those with HIV and he doesn't miss the moola, since living like a monk helps.

In the meantime, Hunter got a job teaching English to Tibetan monks and seems very happy with his life.

As for the girl, no one knows if they are together or not. Not that anyone cared or was willing to put out money to find them. 

 

Good Guys

Ted has gone back to school to study forensic accounting and won't shut up about it. Evidently it's not as boring as it sounds and if the last couple of months are any indication, he's going to do quite well. Brian who had won his case against the police when the truth came out that a boiler explosion caused the fire, backed him and now Kinnetik is offering this service to their clients.

Which brings us to Justin. Thanks to Hunter, Justin's doctor was able to analyze the pills from Michael's stash and unfortunately, Justin was indeed allergic to an ingredient in one of the pills. Sadly there was nothing that could be done to reverse his condition.

So one night Justin got this cockamamie idea that he was a burden to Brian and decided to slink off into the night. What he didn't count on was Jenny Rebecca. Actually nobody really counted on J.R. except maybe Gus. As it turned out Gus was very protective of his sister, even if they were not blood related. I think he'd been taking care of her for so long he couldn't stop himself. 

The psychiatrist...but wait I'm getting ahead of myself again. Let's see I talked to Ben, then I talked to Teddy who told me that Brian broke his leg. That was when things got complicated. Brian and Justin had been staying downstairs because Brian wasn't supposed to over exert himself climbing those steep stairs. But he was bringing Gus home so he needed to be closer to Gus' living quarters. So the only thing that I could come up with was an elevator. Simple, right? Wrong. I must have gone through my entire card file when I got a call from one of the many helpers from when we'd first been renovating the firehouse.

It seemed that they'd been hired to demo, you know demolition? this really old building. There was this service elevator, that wasn't worth much but it was in working order. An answer to my prayer, right? Well, first you need a permit.

I must have used all the connections I had but I manage to get the "oh so needed" permit. We decided to put it in place of the fireman's pole. I knew Brian liked it but it was safer for the kids anyway. After that big hitch came the one with Gus' bedroom. The thing was this room, while a nice size, was not meant to house two kids. That was until we got a mysterious tube in the mail containing blueprints for Gus' space and signed MM. Gus was surprised by the way his room looked . I would say he was delighted, but with him it's hard to tell. We, with Daphne's help, had taken part of the room and with removable walls made a nice little retreat for a young girl. It had everything one would need. A bed with a canopy, a dressing table with mirror, it even had a doll house. I even wanted to stay in that room! 

Anyway, back to the great escape! So, we have Justin trying to sneak down quietly, and then we have J.R. screaming loud enough to wake the dead, or in this case Gus and Brian. From what I was told, Gus tackled Justin and Brian nearly fell head first down the stairway trying to maneuver with his crutches.

Somehow J.R. called Ted, who called me. When did Ted become a confidant to Gus' sister? If you're wondering where I was, well I was at home. I do have a life you know. 

But back to the beginning. By the time Brian, Ted and the kids made it back from Toronto, the freight elevator was in place. 

Sadly when the kids arrived there wasn't much in the way of clothing and toys except what Brian and Ted had gotten them. Gus did have his skate board and that was about it, but Jenny didn't even have any dolls for her new doll house. We held a meeting and Brian insisted we include the kids, which surprised Gus. I think he expected to be told how things were going to be, much like things had gone down in Toronto.

The first thing Brian did was introduce everyone. You know there are certain things that people do, and certain things they don't, and introducing children to other adults is something people don't feel they need to do. Thankfully, I can see things are going to be different here. Paper and pencils were handed out while I supplied coffee and soft drinks, along with freshly baked cookies and everyone was told to make a wish list. Even me!

The children's list was meager, with a few toys, mostly books and a few bits of clothing. Things like a coat and an extra pair of shoes. I am embarrassed when I think of all the things I own and probably could do without and don't need.

Ted was fairly quiet during all this, but then he asked what we wanted the kids to call us and what they wanted us to call them.

I, of course, didn't think twice and said, "I'm Emmett Honeycutt. You can call me Em, or Auntie Em, whichever you prefer."

That had been one of Justin's good days and he chimed in with. "Gus used to call me Jus or Jussen. But you can call me just Justin."

Gus looked thoughtful, as if trying to remember something and nodded. J.R., the little imp just giggled. 

Daphne, being the only other girl in the group, went next. "My name is Daphne Chandler. You can call me Daph, same as Justin does."

Gus looked at Brian and asked. "Can I call you dad?"

"Me too, me too?" J.R. rang out.

Brian got all misty and wasn't that a surprise. "Sure."

"What would you two like to be called?" Ted asked.

Gus shrugged. "Gus is good enough."

J.R. was looking down at her lap.

"Jenny Rebecca?" Brian asked.

She looked up with tears in her eyes and I swear if anyone tried to hurt her I would make sure they never did it again.

"J.R.?" asked Gus.

"I like what Mr. Teddy calls me," she said in a soft voice.

"Mr. Teddy. And just what is that?" I asked. 

Teddy blushed. "Princess."

The sound of "Awwws." went around the room and it was decided, Princess it was.

Our little Princess was having many problems and Gus was doing his best to help her. Her greatest fear was that Michael would try to take her away and Gus is even more determined to not let that happen. He doesn't' want to have to rely on us adults and when you think about it, he has perfectly good reasons for that attitude. We tried to tell her that Gus, when he hired the lawyer to take back the money from Michael, had convinced a judge that she would be better off with her brother and Brian. When the judge had heard what Gus had to say about Michael and what JR wanted he decided that he couldn't in good conscience let her liver with a man who wouldn't give any money for his daughter and worse let her live without clothes or food to buy toys. But her fears had taken hold of her, and there was only so much a young boy could do. What needed to happen was to get her to leave the firehouse. I mean, we all have a to have a way to escape the people we are living with, I had my apartment and Brian had work. 

So one night when I was out at Woody's I ran into Alex Wilder, an old friend of Brian's. I broached, quietly you see, the problems the kids were having. He made some suggestions, but in this case they weren't viable.

"Why?" he asked.

Then in walked the cause of all our problems. He was ranting and raging loudly and this time it was aimed at his mother. Sadly he saw me and came over interrupting my conversation as if I had nothing better to do than to listen to him berate me on all the things that had gone wrong with his life as if it was my fault. Never had I wished harder that I was the good fairy in the Wizard of Oz as I was then. I wanted to wave my wand and tell him to be gone. Fortunately a couple of bears saw the trouble I was having and whisked the bad seed out of Woodys. Too late though, as my evening was ruined.

I didn't see Alex again. He was smart enough to get out while the getting was good, which was a crying shame really, as he isn't hard on the eyes. But on the bright side, he did go to Brian and between them, with Teddy's help; they came up with a plan. At least I think he went to see Brian, though it could have been Daphne's idea.

I admit I was skeptical at first, but the results spoke for themselves. It all started with make believe, Daphne showed up with a 'friend' who just talked, not to anyone in particular, but she quickly brought the kids into the conversation. She said she was going to be in a play and needed help; it turned into a day filled with dress up and laughter.

The Firehouse Four and Friends

Now you are going to have to forgive me while I change the subject again. Did I ever tell you how big the downstairs of the firehouse is? Well one day someone in my apartment building had to move and he was giving away a bunch of stuff, and he had this really big fichus. Did I mention it was free? I'm not really sure why I had to have it, except the kids were doing Little Red Riding Hood and they needed a forest. I know, I know, a fichus does not a forest make. So sue me.

Before we knew it people from all around were bringing potted plants and trees and before you could say Jack Sprout we had an inside park. I know I say we a lot, but I feel like I'm part of the family. Now you would have thought Brian Kinney would be against something like that, but you would be wrong! He even managed to get a park bench for the space.

Our sweet Daphne eventually had to return to her workplace, which sadly left Justin singing the blues, I mean literally singing, the boy has a great voice. He and Daph had been working on redoing Michael's Rage and he missed having someone to bounce ideas off of. 

But as it turned out Gus has a wicked imagination and the two of them came up with some wild shit. Because of Justin's handicap and yes it is considered a handicap; there was no way that Justin could do the art panels for a comic book, so they decided to work on an actual book, they even managed to find a publisher for it. Bet that's going to chap Michael's ass if he ever finds out.

The little Princess wasn't happy so Ted introduced her to Opera. She didn't really care for it though, and who could blame her. So that meant she was at loose ends, and I'm not sure, but I think when she accidentally broke one of the vases and Brian said she was going to have to replace it, that's when she got interested in pottery. Brian wasn't even serious! He apologized ever so nicely and all was right in Princess' world.

I'm the first to admit that she's not very good at it. It reminds me of when I was a kid and played with Play-Doh. Ah, those were the days. I was amazed at how well Brian took to this especially considering how messy it was. He even sprung for an instructor and fixed up the room under the stairway for them. Yes, you heard me right. Them. Justin somehow got involved and he's really good at it. Between the writing and the pottery, he doesn't rely on Brian for anything. You know, I'm seeing the work of the master in this.

And me? Remember the elevator guy? He's been ringing my chimes. I also found out that he had been looking out for us. We had been wondering why we hadn't seen Mikey around. Well, as it turned out Marcel, that is his name, had formed a crew to watch over us so whenever Michael would show up, and let me tell you it was more than we knew, he would be physically removed from the area. It took a while but he finally got the hint. Someone videotaped a couple of encounters and talk about a hoot.

Anyway, the kids are now happy. Brian had them home schooled and it's unconventional to say the least. There were cooking classes taught moi, Ted contributes by giving French lessons and found someone for math and science, Justin is in charge of art, and one of the computer geeks from Kinnetik gives lesson in hacking among other things. Justin's happy, he realized that his life was not over and he was able to so much more then he'd thought he could. Brian, of course, is ecstatic. He has Justin and his son, not to mention a family that makes him happy. For better or worse they are making it work. 

Oh, one more thing. Last night Justin had this dream that he was pregnant. Funny thing, Brian had a similar dream. Not that Justin was pregnant, but that Brian was. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Today in the mail was a card of congratulations signed MM. What does it mean?

 

The END


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